Trump campaign asks for portion of fundraising from candidates who use his name or image

The Trump campaign is asking GOP candidates and committees to share a portion of their fundraising haul from messages that use the former president’s name, image and likeness, a new move campaign officials say is designed to protect small-dollar donors from misleading messages.

Trump campaign co-chairs Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote to GOP vendors in an April 15 letter asking that candidates and committees using former President Trump’s name, image or likeness give at least 5 percent of the resulting fundraising haul to his joint fundraising committee.

Any amount higher than 5 percent “will be seen favorably” by Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC), they wrote, encouraging campaigns to consider providing a higher percentage. 

In addition, LaCivita and Wiles outlined ways for vendors to avoid using language that impersonates the Trump campaign or incorrectly implies a candidate or committee is speaking on behalf of the former president.

“Any vendor whose clients ignore the guidelines mentioned above will be held responsible for their clients' actions,” the two wrote. “Repeated violations will result in the suspension of business relationships between the vendor and Trump National Committee JFC. This includes list rental agreements.”

The letter was first reported by Politico.

The request for a cut of candidates’ fundraising comes as Trump and his campaign have lagged behind President Biden in terms of fundraising for the 2024 election. 

But a campaign spokesperson said the intent of the letter was to deter candidates and committees who might misleadingly use Trump’s name and image to attract donors.

“President Trump has a distinct and iconic brand that is tremendously popular with the American people,” spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement. “When political campaigns and vendors use it in an unauthorized or unapproved way, it is important to protect small dollar donors who are giving their hard earned money while Bidenflation crushes them and believe they are giving to President Trump's campaign to save this nation.”

The Biden campaign raised $90 million in March and entered April with $192 million in cash on hand, which it said was a record for any Democratic candidate at this point in the election cycle. As of the end of March, 1.6 million people have donated to the campaign, officials said.

Meanwhile, Trump has brought in roughly $66 million in March. The Trump campaign and the RNC, which merged last month after he became the presumptive nominee, entered April with $93.1 million in cash on hand.

Trump has also spent millions of dollars in campaign cash on legal fees as he faces multiple criminal indictments.

Trump has tried to close the money gap in recent weeks by holding high-dollar fundraisers, including one hosted by hedge fund billionaire John Paulson in Palm Beach, Fla., that brought in roughly $50 million.