Sources tell The Hill that Donald Trump’s attorneys have sent cease-and-desist letters Friday to the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to stop using his name and image for fundraising.
The three groups are the largest fundraising groups in the Republican Party.
From Trump’s point of view, the letters make perfect sense. Any use of his likeness and name is money in the bank. Better yet, he can use that money to fund his political activities or his personal lifestyle.
“President Trump remains committed to the Republican Party and electing America First conservatives, but that doesn’t give anyone – friend or foe – permission to use his likeness without explicit approval,” a Trump adviser told Politico, which was the first to report on the letters.
The move came the same day the RNC sent two emails to supporters looking for donations in the form of a thank-you card to Trump.
“President Trump will ALWAYS stand up for the American People, and I just thought of the perfect way for you to show that you support him!” one email reads. “As one of President Trump’s MOST LOYAL supporters, I think that YOU, deserve the great honor of adding your name to the Official Trump ‘Thank You’ Card.”
The cease and desist orders are another way to bind the Republican Party’s fortunes to his own. Trump will now license his image, deciding which candidates can use it and which ones can’t.
The letter from Trump’s attorneys appears to be part of the former president’s efforts to solidify his standing as a top kingmaker in the GOP. Trump has already forecasted that he will be heavily involved in the 2022 midterms while he mulls making a third presidential bid in 2024, and his endorsement is expected to be highly sought after by most Republicans.
The former president has so far most backed incumbents in their reelection bids, though he has warned sitting lawmakers he is ready to throw his weight behind primary challengers running against those he deems insufficiently loyal.
The former president has already singled out those GOP congressmen and senators who voted against him during the impeachment trial for destruction. But getting Trump’s endorsement will become a competitive enterprise. There are likely to be several primary candidates in those districts that Trump is targeting. How does he decide who is most slavishly devoted to him? Who will be the lucky candidate to receive his blessing and open the door to donations and support?
Trump is reminding Republicans whose party it is and whose it will be in the future.
Former President Trump is not “owned” by the GOP leadership groups. They have not been particularly helpful or loyal to him or his policies, and he expects total loyalty from those he associates with. I personally do not appreciate some of what the GOP has done over the past 8-10 years, and so, I do not donate to those groups. I have chosen to donate to individual candidates and causes. I will continue to do so. There are several Republican congresspeople that I would be happy to see leave the party, because they frequently vote in a way that is not in alignment with my conservative values.
You are spot-on about donating to these groups–for sometime I’ve been VERY upset with many GOP legislators & when Josh Hawley came under attack by his fellow Republicans, that did it! I decided right then & there to never send one dime to any of these, but donate directly to a candidate. My decision was even more solidified when Rick Scott, Chairman of the NRSC, said he would be supporting ONLY incumbents–that he would not fund any primary challengers! First person that came to mind was traitor, Liz Cheney–I only hope you & I are not alone in this decision–I also refuse to donate to The Heritage Foundation after Kay Cole James jumped on the ‘blame Trump for the riot’ train! I’m fed-up with the hypocrisy & deceit from so-called conservatives–one of Trump’s finest accomplishments has been the ‘outing’ of so many we trusted in the past–and I look forward to his keeping-up the revelations!
lol what a brilliant exercise in blind obedience and devotion to your idol. it’s not that Trump does not belong to Republican party, it’s that Republican party does not belong to Trump. and it’s not a done deal ‘whose party it is and will be in future’. you folks don’t know that.
fact is, vast majority of GOP, for better or (usually) worse, was quite loyal to Trump even as he was pushing boundaries of that loyalty ever farther. they granted him all his legislative wishes even if they went against their own traditional views; they acquitted him both times despite even most blatant lawlessness he provoked. they laid their bodied down for him even as he threw them under the bus repeatedly, as with stimulus. 2017 budget deal and so on. and it’s Trump who should remember what entity–that is, GOP–he used as a trampoline for power. now
any reasonable person would assume that if the guy intends to continue as the party’s standard bearer, he’d ENCOURAGE use of his name rather than protest it. but he’s ‘mostly a BSer’ as his predecessor quite correctly put it, regardless of what you think of Obama himself; and he’s gonna BS til the very end.