Trump, even in exile, is the Republican Party’s cash cow

Source: Politico | May 20, 2021 | Meridith McGraw and Sam Stein

There is a major reason behind the GOP’s reembrace of the ex-president after Jan. 6: Cold. Hard. Cash.

In the days immediately following the Jan. 6 riots, the Republican National Committee went dark.

Its fundraising email account did not send a single message as the prospect sank in that the president it had long trumpeted — Donald Trump — was a pariah for inciting the rioters who ransacked the Capitol.

Six days later, the emails resumed, but with notable caution. A Jan. 12 message from RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel conceded something Trump refused to: “I know the Presidential Election did not turn out the way we wanted,” it read.

If the committee’s intent was to leave the impression that it was moving on from Trump, it was short-lived. Ten days later, the RNC sent another fundraising email, titled “Thank you, President Trump.” Over the subsequent days, the account sent 15 emails decrying Trump’s impeachment for instigating those riots. From there, the embrace only tightened. All told, since resuming its email fundraising, the RNC account has sent 97 emails mentioning Trump, according to a Politico review — touting everything from his potential rallies, to his social media ventures, to his upcoming birthday. The messages add up to roughly 40 percent of all the email fundraising traffic from their campaigns account.

The RNC’s fundraising emails are just one of several data points that affirm the continued force of Trump’s gravitational pull over the entirety of the party.

Fundraisers and operatives, some of whom are no fans of the former president, said GOP institutions have become increasingly reliant on Trump to help generate enthusiasm at the grassroots level, even after he left office and as he continues to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election. And though Trump’s refusal to concede he lost a fair election has contributed to a splintering in the party, his capacity to drive online donations has all but determined how the main party committees come down on that split.

Money, after all, is king.

“There was this pregnant pause around the impeachment and Jan. 6 riot, that was ‘Trump was toxic and Trump doesn’t want us to use his name.’ But we’ve now reverted back to the past five years, where Trump is the biggest name in Republican politics. He’s the best name at bringing in money and we need to lean into that,” said GOP fundraiser Dan Eberhart.

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