Trump Campaign Out Of Money? Signed ‘Art Of The Deal’ Books Selling For $184 And Up
Is Donald Trump’s campaign running out of money? Or are Trump’s people simply finding innovative ways to sell products and services and encourage people to give to the Trump campaign? Among the most recent ways that Trump’s website is trying to get money include the new page on the Trump website that sought “Trump Election Observers” — presumably folks who would help make sure “Crooked Hillary” won’t rig the election and steal it away from Trump.
The Huffington Post questions Trump’s missing money, along with the fact that Trump hasn’t spent any money on TV ads for some time now, compared to Hillary’s $13.6 million worth of ads. CNN says that even Republicans are questioning Trump’s travel choices and his lack of spending money on ads while getting buried by an even larger margin of Clinton’s ad spending since the primaries. With his own party wondering what Trump is waiting for when it comes to spending the billions Trump brags that he’s worth, others can’t help but wonder if the tactics being used on Trump’s website to raise funds are due to a lack of funding.
As reported by Politico, Trump’s new election observers page encourages people to fill out a form that matches their voter registration information to get more info about the steps it takes to volunteer as a Trump Election Observer. After that information is gathered, Trump’s website moves on to the next steps, presumably in the process of becoming a Trump Election Observer. Those steps appear to include donating money — even clicking the “Other” field and trying to enter any sum less than $1 resulted in a red exclamation point that makes one assume they must at least give $1 to the Trump campaign in order to become a Trump Election Observer.
However, just filling out the first portion of the Trump form — without donating anything — eventually brings the would-be Trump Election Observer a thank-you email that spills the next steps in Trump’s plan
“Thank you for volunteering to be a Trump Election Observer! We are going to do everything we are legally allowed to do to stop crooked Hillary from rigging this election. Someone from the campaign will be contacting you soon. Thank you for helping to Make America Great Again, Team Trump.”
It’s not the only method that the Trump campaign is using to try and raise funds. Another page on Trump’s website promises a signed copy of The Art of the Deal. It is kind of an odd vehicle to promote on the presidential candidate’s website, seeing as though Tony Schwartz — the man who actually wrote the book, according to the New Yorker — called Trump a sociopath.
Nevertheless, the signed copies of the book are being hawked.
“Signed Copy of ?Donald J. Trump’s Book: The Art of the Deal is now out of print, so this is a very limited edition issue and only available through this special offer through my campaign. I want you to read about the unique leadership and business acumen I will bring to the White House. Get your signed copy of The Art of the Deal with a contribution of $184 today.”
Get a signed copy of "The Art of the Deal" #TrumpPence16 https://t.co/G9ZBva3kB8 pic.twitter.com/yXFnHthnHA
— Sandra Opines 4Trump (@SandraOpines) August 12, 2016
The web page shows that the pre-order of the signed copies of the book are sold out, with the “Early Bird” signed copies still available as of this writing, for $184 each. The “Almost Gone” price is $221 — and the “Last Chance” price has only three question marks right now in place of a price.
In order to get a signed copy of Trump’s book, a person can choose a donation amount of $184, $200, $360 or an “other” amount — a field which accepts $1 — but it’s the $184 contribution that brings a signed copy of The Art of the Deal.
The choice to “make this a monthly recurring donation” is still available — a feature that gained controversy from some of those who have tried to easily cancel their Trump monthly donation, as reported by Vanity Fair.
Another page on Trump’s website allows people to take his or her “spot on the Trump Board of Directors,” which offers donors their “very own Board of Directors Certificate!”
Trump's latest fundraising pitch: "Join today and you will receive your very own Board of Directors Certificate." pic.twitter.com/V5XgsDUzlH
— Jill Colvin (@colvinj) August 12, 2016
Meanwhile, Hillary has released her tax returns, putting more pressure on Trump to release his and prove his worth, along with details about how much Trump has really paid in taxes and given to charity, as reported by the New York Times.
[Photo by Mary Schwalm/AP Images]
