Trump 2020 Gains Steam With $35,000 A Plate Fundraiser, Protesters Cry ‘Shame’


Donald Trump wants to win re-election of the United States presidency in 2020. To make sure he succeeds, Trump is already holding fundraising dinners to the tune of $35,000 a plate, as The Guardian reported.

Trump held his first 2020 re-election fundraiser at the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday. Around 300 guests were expected to attend the event and help raise $10 million for Trump’s re-election campaign. The guests started arriving at the fundraiser around 5 p.m. The media was not allowed inside the hotel.

When the Trump motorcade arrived, the POTUS was greeted with a chorus of “Shame! Shame!” from protesters gathered outside the D.C. hotel. Despite tight security, the protesters led by liberal groups such as Public Citizen were able to gather near the venue of the fundraiser with many of them holding placards showing their discontent over the Republican healthcare plan. Some of the placards contained slogans such as “Health care not tax cuts,” “Healthcare is a human right,” and “Medicaid not millionaires.”

Trump is preparing for his re-election early on to avoid problems with funds similar to what happened with his campaign in 2016. Trump held his major fundraising event for last year’s campaign only five months before the elections. This time, Trump is taking the necessary steps 40 months early to keep funds coming and to strengthen his campaign for re-election come 2020.

There were concerns that Trump would be violating government ethics after news broke that the 2020 re-election fundraiser was going to be held in his own hotel. Richard Painter, the chief ethics lawyer during the administration of former President George W. Bush, said that it would have been wiser if Trump held the fundraiser in a hotel that he doesn’t own. According to BBC, Painter stressed that it would be wrong for Trump, the businessman to benefit financially from the fundraiser for Trump, the politician.

Washington University law professor Kathleen Clark, an expert on government ethics, told USA Today that Trump is not breaking any laws by holding the fundraiser in his hotel. Clark stressed, however, that the move allows Trump to “exploit his opportunities to promote Trump properties.” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also disagreed with Painter’s pronouncement.

“He’s raising money for the party. I don’t think that’s abnormal for any president.”

The Trump 2020 re-election campaign has reportedly already raised around $7 million through donations and sales of “Make America Great Again” merchandise. The Republican National Committee or RNC, meanwhile, has raised an estimated $62 million as of May.

[Featured Image by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Images]

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