6/16/15 Trump:“I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.”
8/23/15 Trump:“We have a lot of small contributors. I would even take big contributors, as long as they don’t expect anything,”8/23/15 Donald Trump has boldly touted his independence from big donors, in June proclaiming “I’m using my own money” during his presidential announcement speech, and holding forth his multi-billion-dollar net worth as proof that he can’t be bought by the “special interests” that bankroll — and “control” — the campaigns of his rivals.
But even as Trump publicly scorned other candidates’ use of super PACs, he tacitly gave approval to the Make America Great Again PAC by attending a fundraiser the group held in New York last month.
Trump spoke for between 10 and 15 minutes at the mid-July fundraiser, where about 200 people packed into a private residence in Manhattan.
“It was a combination of friends that have known Mr. Trump for years while others were meeting him for the first time,” said Mike Ciletti, a consultant for the Make America Great Again PAC, one of five known pro-Trump super PACs.
Asked about the event, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski initially told POLITICO on Thursday that Trump had not attended any PAC fundraisers “to my knowledge.”
However, on Friday a campaign spokeswoman confirmed that Trump did attend, and forwarded a message from the Republican presidential candidate.
"There are so many people wanting to contribute and I am so grateful for their support. I appreciate the moral investment in my vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in an e-mailed statement to POLITICO Friday.
Read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/donald-trump-donor-fundraising-2016-121645.html#ixzz3jhWeyHoA
