Donald Trump is amassing a half-billion-dollar war chest by aggressively pressuring top business leaders across multiple industries, including agriculture, finance, and tech. His goal is to solidify Republican loyalty for his non-consecutive second term, rewarding loyal allies while sidelining vocal critics.
Business moguls are caving into Donald Trump's requests for cash, and his campaign staff is bracing for the president-elect to amass a $500 million war chest to prove his control over the Republican Party.
Axios stated that the soon-to-be-former president is storing up funds to support his Republican loyalists and penalize dissenters so that he can avoid being perceived as a political limp-dragger after serving a non-consecutive second term, despite being constitutionally barred from doing so.
The cash is rolling in at Mar-a-Lago without any effort on Trump's part. He's getting everyone's attention. Half a billion dollars by June is their target, and they're on pace to meet it. Despite its apparent aim, it is merely an accurate assessment of current events, according to one of the five Trump advisors who spoke with Axios.
Contributions to Trump's inauguration and presidential library funds, the MAGA Inc. super PAC, a political nonprofit called Securing American Greatness, and the Republican National Committee have come from a diverse range of industries, including agriculture, finance, health care, insurance, and tech. However, according to Trump's adviser, cryptocurrency investors have been "blowing it out."
According to the advisor, although $1 million was once considered a substantial sum, now we're approaching donors who are willing to give $10 million or $20 million.
Another Trump aide chimed in, saying that when techies donate a lot, it motivates everyone to do the same, The Raw Story shares.
During meetings with business leaders, Trump allegedly took out corporate balance sheets to prod them into restarting donations. He also maintained a grievance list of GOP donors and business leaders who stopped giving following the Jan. 6 insurgency four years ago.
An anonymous source close to the president-elect claimed that Trump informed one company's officials that their profits were this much last year and that they will be even more profitable this year as a result of his efforts.
"But when I needed you, where the f--- were you? You weren't with me and maybe you were with [Kamala Harris]."
Sources say that Trump has made it clear that he will not be using these donors' money to support their agendas and that he won re-election last year without their assistance. A consultant for one company claimed to have witnessed Trump "raking them over the coals" during a meeting with a client regarding their donation pause, which resumed following the confrontation.
"He'll take your money and then tell you, 'I don't give a f--- what you want,'" added another Trump adviser. "He did that during the campaign. He's going to do what he wants, what the base wants."
Donors appear to think their money matters, even if it's only to appease the president-elect or Trump's cronies Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, or their quasi-governmental organization, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which looks out for the budget.
The fear of being "DOGE'd" is something that one lobbyist expressed to Axios.
