Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is trying to enlist donors who have supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by presenting the former president’s rising poll numbers as an unstoppable force in the race for the US Republican nomination.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is trying to enlist donors who have supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by presenting the former president’s rising poll numbers as an unstoppable force in the race for the US Republican nomination.
An elaborate three-page memo from longtime Trump pollster John McLaughlin containing color-coded graphics was attached to an email sent by the campaign on Wednesday — a day after Trump was arraigned in a New York courtroom on charges that he falsified business records to conceal a payment of hush money to an adult-film actress.
Like others in the former president’s circle, the campaign tried to present the candidate’s legal troubles as beneficial to his latest quest for the White House, while simultaneously denouncing the prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The memo, which was seen by Bloomberg News and reported earlier by Politico, presents Trump’s “fantastic trends” as he has pulled away from DeSantis in voter surveys.
“Now is the time to demonstrate your support and join Team 47 early,” the campaign said, in a reference to Trump becoming the 47th president if he is elected in 2024. Over and over, the campaign tells the donors that Trump would be a far superior Republican nominee than DeSantis against President Joe Biden. According to the memo, “President Trump leads Joe Biden 47% to 43%.”
Neither DeSantis nor Biden have declared their candidacies, yet both are expected to run.
“The unprecedented effort by Biden, Bragg, and the radical left to indict President Trump has created a historic surge from Republican voters to support President Trump as their nominee to beat Joe Biden,” the memo concludes.
A DeSantis representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the memo Wednesday night.
After leaving New York on Tuesday, Trump appeared before hundreds of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, assailing the 34-count indictment as politically motivated and trying to link the case to grievances he’s long deployed to great effect to hold sway over his supporters.
The pitch from the campaign was made as Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook has hobbled Trump’s ability to raise money from its users as effectively as he did in past campaigns.
He can no longer directly target his tens of millions of Facebook followers with fundraising appeals, nor can he find users who have similar political views, making it harder and more expensive to prospect for contributors.
At the same time, several influential Republicans have said they would not support Trump in 2024. Earlier this year, the network founded by the billionaire Charles Koch and his late brother David, as well as the anti-tax Club For Growth, indicated their desire for another nominee.
–With assistance from Nancy Cook.
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