Trump breaks tradition by redirecting inaugural promotional funds to his PAC

President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up after his inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Official merchandise sales from Donald Trump's inaugural committee could do more than celebrate his second presidency: They could ultimately be used to cover Trump's personal expenses, including legal fees.

On November 9, the president-elect launched the Trump Vance Inauguration Committee, a tax-exempt organization charged with organizing events surrounding the inauguration; his website, t47inaugural.com, also went live around this time. The merchandise section of the site redirects to WinRed, the Republican Party's main fundraising platform, offering 38 inauguration-themed items, ranging from a pair of $12 buttons to a $70 fleece sweater. In smaller print at the bottom of the page and at checkout, the site reveals that proceeds from these sales go to the Trump National Committee, which allocates 20 percent to Never Surrender, a leadership PAC formed on November 12 when the Trump National Committee Trump 2024 campaign was created. renamed and restructured, and 80% to the Republican National Committee completely bypassing the nonprofit inaugural committee.

Although campaign contributions cannot legally be used to cover a candidate's personal expenses, leadership PACs, like Never Surrender, are not bound by such restrictions. This gives Trump considerable flexibility in how he uses proceeds from merchandise commemorating his upcoming inauguration. For example, another Trump leadership PAC, Save America, spent $93 million on legal fees and transferred another $720,000 to Trump's companies, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

It's unusual for profits from inauguration proceeds to go to a leadership PAC, according to Brett Kappel, a campaign finance attorney. Inaugural memorabilia sales are typically used to fund inaugural events, Kappel says. As far as I know, this is the first time that proceeds from these sales have been diverted to a presidential leadership PAC, where they are not subject to the personal use ban.

Without explaining why the funds are being directed to political groups rather than the first nonprofit, a spokesperson for Trump's inaugural committee explained that they chose to use a pre-existing partner, WinRed, to sell goods due to the short time between the election and inauguration (a period that has been the same since the ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933).

There is no need to support an entire online store, while we focus on planning a single grand opening, the spokesperson told Forbes.

In 2017, proceeds from the only official merchandise sold by the Trump inaugural committee, a $50 commemorative license plate, went to the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee, according to an archived snapshot of the events website at archive.org . Similarly, proceeds from sales of official memorabilia for both Obama inaugurations were used to finance the inaugural events, according to contemporary media reports. Reports about Biden's 2021 inauguration store did not specify where the profits went, although the store was hosted at the site of his nonprofit inaugural committee.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor at Stetson University Law School and author of the new book Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians, sees potential legal problems with the proceeds of inaugural merchandise flowing to the PAC Trump and the RNC. Is there a legal problem? Yes, if donors are misled into telling them they are giving to the inauguration when the money is going elsewhere, Torres-Spelliscy says. This presents a potential electronic fraud problem. So details about how the fine print looks are important.

It's unclear where Never Surrender is placing its 20% cut of Trump inauguration store sales, and details on how it has spent its funds since transitioning from Trump's campaign committee on Nov. 12 will not be released. not made public before the end of January. Spokespeople for Never Surrender and the RNC did not respond to requests for comment.

Of course, Trump is no stranger to allegations that he used the initial funds for his personal gain. In 2022, Trump's first inaugural committee and companies agreed to pay Washington, D.C. $750,000 after the attorney general alleged they illegally misused nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family. The lawsuit claimed the inaugural inaugural fund overpaid the Trump hotel for event space, threw a private party for Trump's adult children and settled a debt for the Trump Organization.

Meanwhile, his company's website, trumpstore.com, sells products related to his presidencies.

At a press conference before his first inauguration, Trump's lawyer said Trump asked us to take every step reasonably possible to make clear that he was not exploiting the office of president for his personal gain.

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