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Politics


GOFUNDME BRUSHES OFF BOYCOTT CALLS OVER TRUMP FUNDRAISER AS FANS TRY TO HELP
EX-PREZ FOOT LEGAL BILLS: ‘DON’T SEE A PROBLEM’

By Ryan King

Published Feb. 22, 2024, 3:42 p.m. ET

Crowdsourcing platform GoFundMe is standing up to pressure from the left to halt
a fundraiser meant to help pay former President Donald Trump’s penalties from
last week’s New York civil fraud ruling.

A myriad of netizens seethed and called for a boycott until GoFundMe nixed the
fundraising campaign, which had raised more than $965,000 as of Thursday
afternoon, but so far the company is declining to do so.

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“This fundraiser is currently within our terms of service,” GoFundMe director of
public affairs Jalen Drummond told The Post. Drummond previously worked as a
White House assistant press secretary under Trump.

Hans von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission and
current manager of the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative,
told The Post the he saw no legal problems or violation of federal campaign
finance laws with the fundraising campaign set up by Florida woman Elena
Cardone. 

“This GoFundMe campaign can’t be considered campaign contributions to Donald
Trump because it’s paying legal expenses that would exist irrespective of the
campaign,” he said. “Remember all of the prosecutors in these cases are saying,
‘Oh, these cases have absolutely nothing to do with his candidacy,’ right?”

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“If they used it for some kind of campaign expense, yeah, that would be a
problem. But if they stick to just paying these legal costs, I don’t see a
problem.”


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Cardone is the wife of private equity fund manager Grant Cardone.

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“I stand unwaveringly with President Donald Trump in the face of what I see as
unprecedented and unfair treatment by certain judicial elements in New York,”
she wrote on the fundraiser’s webpage.

“The recent legal battles he faces are not just an attack on him, but an attack
on the very ideals of fairness and due process that every American deserves.”

3
Donald Trump’s various businesses have taken a considerable hit since he first
entered the political fray in 2015. AP

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The fundraiser was set up on the heels of a devastating decision in the civil
fraud case against Trump, in which he was ordered to pony up $355 million in
addition to interest, which could spike the cost past $450 million.

Reps for the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the
case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cardone’s GoFundMe was mocked by social media critics, some of whom demanded the
site be taken down.

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“How many Billionaires do you know that have @gofundme accounts to pay their
legal expenses? #BoycottGoFundMe,” self-described multimedia journalist David
Leavitt wrote on X.

See more

> How many Billionaires do you know that have @gofundme accounts to pay their
> legal expenses? 🤔 #BoycottGoFundMe
> 
> — David Leavitt 🎲🎮🧙‍♂️🌈 🔜 Pax East (@David_Leavitt) February 20, 2024

“I want everyone to #BoycottGoFundMe Do you agree they should be investigated
for possible tax and campaign fraud? Not all contributions to Trump fines are
public and it could be used to evade tax/campaign laws,” user My2Cents wrote.

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See more

> I want everyone to #BoycottGoFundMe
> 
> Do you agree they should be investigated for possible tax and campaign fraud?
> 
> Not all contributions to Trump fines are public and it could be used to evade
> tax/campaign laws
> 
> Repost/likes – Agree 💯 pic.twitter.com/nIPJS3xQQW
> 
> — My2Cents🙏🏻Repost/Like (@remy2cents) February 20, 2024

“Again, the Go Fund Me to raise money to pay for trump’s fraud settlement is
being run by the wife of a 2X billionaire who could easily write a check for the
whole amount himself without even feeling it. Think about that before you go
selling your trailers, MAGA. #BoycottGoFundMe,” user Scary Larry wrote.

See more

> Again, the Go Fund Me to raise money to pay for trump’s fraud settlement is
> being run by the wife of a 2X billionaire who could easily write a check for
> the whole amount himself without even feeling it. Think about that before you
> go selling your trailers, MAGA. #BoycottGoFundMe pic.twitter.com/zH3Poa0VWr
> 
> — 😱 Scary Larry 😱 🇺🇦✊🏻🇺🇸🗽 (@aintscarylarry) February 20, 2024

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Some users fought back against the boycott effort.

“I’m tired of all the boycotts and cancel culture. Stop calling for people to
#BoycottGoFundMe merely because they are allowing a campaign to exist which you
don’t like,” so-called “Resistance” figure Brian Krassenstein vented.

“Stop also trying to boycott New York because a judge independently decided that
Trump should be fined for fraud.”

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See more

> I'm tired of all the boycotts and cancel culture.
> 
> Stop calling for people to #BoycottGoFundMe merely because they are allowing a
> campaign to exist which you don't like.
> 
> Stop also trying to boycott New York because a judge independently decided
> that Trump should be fined for… pic.twitter.com/NMXC2rs01W
> 
> — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 20, 2024

See more

> #BoycottGoFundMe Whining liberals again. I love it. I don't usually do this;
> but I think I'll go there just to donate. pic.twitter.com/lqs7qgfr8b
> 
> — Dwight Brocious (@brocious_dwight) February 20, 2024

“#BoycottGoFundMe Whining liberals again. I love it. I don’t usually do this;
but I think I’ll go there just to donate,” Dwight Brocious wrote on X.

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Trump’s net worth hovers around $2.6 billion and he has over $640 million worth
of liquid assets, Forbes estimated last year.

The former president has long disputed those estimates and insisted that his
personal fortune is actually much larger.

In addition to the penalty, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron
barred Trump from leading business in the Empire State for three years.

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“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are
accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove
this over and over again,” Engoron wrote in his ruling, referring to Trump, his
two adult sons, the Trump Organization and other company officials.

“This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or
arson,” he continued. “Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are
incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”

3
The GoFundMe campaign has now raked in $687,000, up considerably from what it
amassed after launching last week. GoFundMe

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3
Donald Trump is juggling a smattering of court deadlines and obligations with
his grueling campaign responsibilities. AP

Trump is expected to challenge that decision, which comes weeks after he was
slapped with $83.3 million in damages from advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s
defamation case.

In response to a question about the backlash GoFundMe has weathered, Trump
campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Post, “Liberals and [Republican
presidential candidate] Nikki Haley love to cry about everything.”

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Trump is staring down the barrel of 91 criminal counts across four indictments.
He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all of them.

Last year, he dipped into $48 million from Super PACs to help pay his legal
expenses, according to an analysis from the Wall Street Journal last month.

Additional reporting by Josh Christenson.


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Filed under campaigns ,  donald trump ,  fraud ,  gofundme ,  new york , 
2/22/24

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