Former President Donald J. Trump is backing a group whose officials say will aim to combat the sprawling Democratic donor network Democracy Alliance, the latest attempt by Mr. Trump to put his imprint and involvement on Republican fund-raising efforts since he left the White House.
The group, called the America Alliance, will ask donors to pay annual dues and commit to giving $100,000 to candidates and organizations that the umbrella group recommends, according to internal documents and people familiar with the plans. Mr. Trump has asked Michael Glassner, the former chief operating officer of the Trump re-election campaign in 2020, to be the chief executive officer.
The new group will recommend sending contributions to entities created by or working with Trump allies and also to organizations associated with Mr. Trump, including a planned super PAC and his own multicandidate PAC.
Internal documents for the group, viewed by The New York Times, contain a note that no employees “will be compensated on a commission basis.”
Mr. Trump said in a statement to The Times that the group — as well has his own candidate committees and the party committees — was a way to gain traction against Democrats.
“For years Republicans have been at a fundraising disadvantage, but now thanks to Save America, Make America Great Again PAC, America Alliance, our fine party committees and all of our other supporting groups we’re going to beat the Democrats at their own game,” Mr. Trump said.
The group was originally conceived of by Caroline Wren, a professional fund-raiser who has worked for officials including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and who worked for the former president’s re-election campaign. When it was first pitched to donors weeks ago, some advisers to Mr. Trump said that he was displeased with its existence, because it competed with other groups he was endorsing, and that he hadn’t signed off on it. Since then, he’s warmed to the idea of a new group, which officials say will focus on grass-roots activity as well as donating to other organizations.
Mr. Trump decided to install Mr. Glassner at the top of the structure, with Ms. Wren working for Mr. Glassner as a senior adviser, along with a string of other senior staff members and a board of a dozen advisers.
Ms. Wren has told strategists she has met with more than 100 donors over the last five months and has repeatedly heard a desire for this kind of entity to more effectively direct money.
The move by Mr. Trump comes as the Republican donor class is entering a midterms cycle and new presidential cycle, with the Republican National Committee, congressional committees and individual candidate committees all vying for donor support.
Mr. Trump’s Save America political action committee has close to $90 million stockpiled, primarily raised in the weeks after the Nov. 3 election, which he falsely claimed was stolen from him. The former president has repeatedly been the draw at fund-raisers at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, for candidates seeking his support.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://trendinginthenews.com/usa-politics/an-arizona-judge-halts-a-gop-effort-to-recount-2020-ballots-but-its-likely-to-resume
