US President Donald Trump did not donate a single dollar to his re-election efforts, but his business managed to get millions of others in it, according to Forbes magazine.

When Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2015, he promised that he would pay for his campaign, saying, "I don't need anyone's money. I use my own money. I don't use lobbyists. I don't use donors. I don't care. I'm really rich."

Five years later, things have changed. Trump is still rich, but he's no longer touting the amount of money he's putting into his campaign. The reason is simple: After spending $ 66 million on his 2016 candidacy, the President donated exactly $ 0 to his 2020 bid, according to the most recent FEC deposits. Instead, Trump has managed to extract millions of dollars from his re-election effort, by having his own companies charge the campaign fees for things like rent, food, and even information technology. In this way, the president has funneled $ 2.4 million from his political supporters into his own company.

According to the analysis, the Republican National Committee has paid another $ 2.6 million to Trump's private companies since the day he took office. Then there are two joint fundraising committees, which raise funds on behalf of both the campaign and the FNC. These two groups, Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again Committee, have channeled an additional $ 3.1 million into the president's companies. The Trump campaign, the party's National Council, and joint fundraising committees transferred $ 8.1 million in donor funds to Trump's companies.

In 2018, after profits fell at Trump National Doral, a 643-room golf resort, the Republican National Committee raised its spending from $ 3,000 to $ 603,000. The Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, which does not appear to be earning enough money to cover the interest expense, also received at least $ 1.1 million from the campaign. Since mid-March, as hotels across the country have been grappling with the coronavirus, these same political groups have spent more than $ 1.6 million in the president's hotels.

Source: "Forbes"

By:Nadeemy Haded