Donations to a GoFundMe page set up to pay for former President Donald Trump's civil fraud fine have slowed down almost three weeks after it was posted.
In February, Elena Cardone, the wife of real estate businessman Grant Cardone, made the GoFundMe page called "Stand with Trump; Fund the $355M Unjust Judgment."
The fundraiser was set up following a ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron that Trump must pay $355 million for committing fraud. The New York court held that Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers.
While it reached over $1 million in donations a week after it was launched, contributions have since slowed. At the time of writing, some two weeks later, the fundraiser has accrued a total of $1,328,307 from around 23,500 donations. With interest increasing every day until Trump pays the fine, something he has yet to do given that he has appealed Engoron's ruling, it seems unlikely that GoFundMe will rack up enough money to support the former president significantly.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Trump via email for comment.
Todd Landman, professor of political science at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, told Newsweek that Trump will need another plan to raise enough money to pay for his fine.
"The GoFundMe solution was always going to be a marginal effort relative to the sums that are required," Landman said.
"I think the Supreme Court opinion from yesterday [in which it was ruled Trump can remain on state ballots] and the likely positive results for him after today's primary contests in 16 states will reinvigorate his fundraising, but only for his campaign.
"He does not appear presently to have the liquidity to settle the damages from his civil cases, which may require liquidating some of his assets under relatively unfavorable terms. Campaign funds can be used to pay legal fees, but not be used to pay legal damages, so he will need a plan that goes beyond relying on crowdfunding through platforms such as GoFundMe."
As Trump considers his ability to stay off legal fines, the Republican is poised to get a campaign boost today as over a dozen states vote in GOP primaries across the country on Super Tuesday.
Trump, the overall frontrunner in the Republican primaries ahead of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, is also likely to win the presidential election in November, according to bookmakers. Though there are eight months to go until voters cast their ballots in the general election, recent opinion polls suggest that Trump and his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden, are neck-and-neck.
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Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
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