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Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign

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Also see First Trump Administration

The Trump 2016 presidential campaign formally began on June 16, 2015, when real estate mogul and media personality Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States. 1 The campaign gained an early lead in the crowded Republican primary election, and then-candidate Trump was named the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016. 2 The campaign effectively ended on November 8, 2016, when Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College projections, making Trump President-elect of the United States. 3 During the 2016 election cycle, the Donald J. Trump for President campaign committee raised $334.8 million in the 2016 election cycle, just over half of the $623.1 million raised by Secretary Clinton’s committee. 4 Including outside super PACs and fundraising committees, the Trump campaign raised a total of $957.6 million, while the Clinton campaign raised $1.4 billion. 4

The Trump 2016 campaign ran on a right-of-center platform which emphasized national security, immigration restriction, and economic recovery as key issues. 5 The Trump campaign faced several scandals, many of which were related to President Trump’s rhetoric and opposition to political correctness while on the campaign trail. 6

Several prominent Republicans opposed Trump’s 2016 campaign, with Republican operatives organizing to change the rules of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in an attempt to avoid naming Trump the Republican nominee even after he secured a majority of primary delegates. 7 8 High profile Republicans also came out against the Trump 2016 campaign, including former First Lady Barbara Bush, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. 9

Starting in July 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) targeted the Trump campaign to discover whether the campaign was illegally coordinating with the Russian government. 10 On January 6, 2017, the United States government reported that the Russian government had interfered in the United States elections to undermine public faith in elections and undermine former Secretary Clinton’s campaign. 11 The report prompted a two-year probe into the Trump campaign, after which investigators found no evidence of collusion between the campaign and the Russian government. 12

The Trump campaign received 26% of its total funding from donations of $200 or less, compared to just 16% raised by small dollar donors to the Clinton campaign. 4 President Trump donated $66 million of his own fortune to support his campaign, making him the largest donor. 13 Other major contributors included GOP megadonors and casino owners Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus. 13 14

Campaign Timeline

Businessman and media personality Donald Trump formally announced his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. There, he announced the campaign’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and vowed to self-fund his campaign. 1 Early on, the Trump campaign focused on immigration issues, garnering massive media attention for his controversial statements regarding illegal immigrants. 15

Throughout the summer of 2015, the Trump campaign held rallies in early primary states, campaigning on a platform that emphasized American security and denounced Democratic frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 16 In the first presidential debate in August 2015, President Trump refused to rule out running as a third-party candidate if he did not receive the Republican nomination, though he eventually walked back on that statement and agreed to support the Republican nominee, even if he lost. 17 18

In July 2015, President Trump began to top polls in the crowded Republican primary election after overtaking then-Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R). 19 20 In the lead up to the Iowa caucuses in February 2016, polling averages showed President Trump as the leader, though he lost the Iowa caucuses to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). 21 22 The Trump campaign then took a commanding lead in the Republican primary election after winning wide victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, causing many Republican primary candidates to end their campaigns. 23 24 25

In May 2016, President Trump won the Indiana primary election, causing his last remaining Republican opponents, Sen. Cruz and then-Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), to drop out of the race. 26 After the Trump campaign secured a majority of delegates later that month, two organizations of Republican delegates attempted to alter the rules of the Republican National Convention to avoid having to give their votes to Trump. 7 8

On July 15, 2016, President Trump announced that he had chosen Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) as his running mate. On July 19, 2016, despite efforts to avoid making President Trump the Republican nominee, the Republican National Convention delegates officially nominated Trump for President and Pence for Vice President. 27

During the general election cycle, the Trump campaign worked against former Secretary Clinton, criticizing her support for left-of-center policy. Though former Secretary Clinton was predicted by nearly all pre-election polls to win, President Trump secured 306 prospective electoral votes in a shocking upset on November 8, 2016. 3 Despite winning the presidency, President Trump did not carry the notional nationwide popular vote, with former Secretary Clinton earning 2.8 million more votes than President Trump. 28

Policy Positions

Immigration

Much of President Donald Trump’s early 2016 campaign focused on immigration policy, laying out a restrictionist immigration policy that included the construction of a wall along the Southern border of the United States to keep out illegal immigrants. 5 President Trump’s presidential campaign announcement speech drew significant controversy when he called for the border wall and declared that Mexico would be forced to pay for it. 29

Early in his campaign, President Trump claimed that the “worst elements in Mexico” were being “pushed into the United States by the Mexican government,” accusing Mexican illegal immigrants of supplying illicit drugs in the United States, bringing “tremendous infectious disease,” and committing crimes such as rape. The Trump campaign also alleged that left-of-center immigration policy had made the United States the world’s “dumping ground” for undesirable groups of citizens. 30

President Trump’s early rhetoric around immigration drew many opponents to his campaign, with some criticizing then-candidate Trump for making allegedly racist statements regarding illegal immigrants. 31 Then-Republican presidential primary candidate Jeb Bush accused the Trump campaign’s statements of being “extraordinarily kind of ugly” and “not reflective of the Republican Party.” 32 Corporate organizations, including Univision, NBC, Macy’s, Serta, and NASCAR, severed their ties with or distanced themselves from organizations related to President Trump following his comments. 33 34 35 36

Aside from the border wall, the Trump campaign took a consistent restrictionist approach to immigration policy. President Trump promised to deport all illegal immigrants in the United States, though he eventually softened his policy position and claimed that he would limit deportations to those who refused to pay back taxes or committed criminal offenses in the United States. The Trump campaign also promised to create a deportation task force within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and rejected the idea of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants unless they agreed to leave the country before applying. 31 37

Aside from taking strict steps to combat illegal immigration, the Trump campaign also endorsed policies to strengthen protocols against visa overstays, create a nationwide E-Verify program for employers to check employee immigration status, and terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program put in place during the Obama administration through executive orders. 37 38

Social Issues

During the campaign, President Trump proposed the repeal of several left-of-center policies implemented by the Obama administration, most notably the Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA or Obamacare). 5 While campaigning, President Trump fiercely opposed the ACA, calling for its full repeal and replacement “immediately” once he entered office. As a candidate, President Trump repeatedly attacked the ACA for creating rising health care costs and limited the degree of choice afforded to citizens in deciding whether to purchase health care. 39

The Trump campaign also attacked Obama administration environmentalist measures, vowing to repeal many environmental protection policies. President Trump also promised to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, which set limits on United States carbon emissions, and promoted increased government funding for conventional energy projects, especially in coal. 40

On other social issues, the Trump campaign adopted both center-right and center-left positions. While President Trump called for an end for all state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, he also supported some left-of-center policies, including ending the federal prohibition on medical marijuana; investing in federal infrastructure projects; and bolstering some entitlement programs, like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans’ assistance programs. 5

The campaign took a similarly mixed approach to criminal justice issues, with the Trump campaign supporting increased funding for policing and calling for concealed carry permits to be recognized nationwide. The campaign also adopted some left-of-center criminal justice positions, calling for more funding for drug treatment programs, an expanded background check system for firearms purchases, and investments in mental health programs to address gun violence. 5

The campaign emphasized its tough-on-crime attitude throughout the campaign, with President Trump calling for “swift and very fair law and order” and decrying the “rollback of criminal enforcement,” especially for drug offenders, under the Obama administration. 39 The Trump campaign also opposed reinstating voting privileges for convicted felons and supported the increased privatization of the United States prison system. 41

Economic Policy

The Trump campaign embraced many right-of-center fiscal policies, with President Trump calling for a simplified U.S. tax code with a reduced number of tax brackets, a decreased corporate tax rate, decreased tax loopholes and incentives, and the elimination of income taxes for individuals making less than $25,000 per year. 5 While it supported decreased taxes, the campaign also took an anti-market approach to trade, promising to impose tariffs on imported goods. 5 The Trump campaign also condemned free trade agreements, such as the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and called for their renegotiation or complete repeal. 41

Despite its support for protectionist policies, the Trump campaign generally endorsed decreased market regulations. President Trump called for rolling back environmentalist protections, removing regulatory barriers which prevented insurance companies from providing national plans, and repealing the financial regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 5

Foreign Policy and National Security

The Trump campaign supported a right-of-center approach to foreign policy and national security. President Trump vowed to leave U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan to avoid destabilizing the country, reinvest in military expansion, and continue U.S. military operations against terrorist organizations. The Trump campaign also supported a more hardline approach to negotiating with foreign leaders, especially those representing China, with President Trump promising to renegotiate trade relations with China and aggressively challenge its power on the world stage. 5

The Trump campaign also criticized United States allies for not pulling their weight in mutual defense agreements, especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). President Trump called out other countries for not abiding by the NATO requirement to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense and alleged that the United States was not being reimbursed for “the tremendous costs of our military protecting other countries.” The Trump campaign broadly supported calls to force United States allies to increase their military budgets. 42

While advocating for stricter anti-terrorism protocols, candidate Trump controversially praised Saddam Hussein’s killing of terrorists. The Trump campaign also supported the creation of stronger terror watch lists, increased surveillance programs, and bombing campaigns against suspected terrorists in the Middle East. Despite supporting anti-terrorism intervention abroad, the Trump campaign supported a non-interventionist approach when dealing with countries violating their own citizens’ civil liberties. 42

Proposed “Muslim Ban”

In the name of national security, the Trump campaign supported enhanced immigration restrictions on predominately Muslim countries following a string of radical Islamist attacks in Europe. President Trump called for the creation of a mandatory database of Muslim immigrants to the United States to track potential terrorist activities, which critics compared to the creation of databases of Jewish people in Nazi Germany. 43 President Trump also called for enhanced surveillance of certain mosques in the United States and the creation of a database of Syrian refugees. 44

In December 2015, following shootings by extremists in California, President Trump called for a temporary “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” to evaluate national security related to extremism. 45

The proposal drew harsh condemnation, with the Pentagon issuing a statement of concern that then-candidate Trump’s comments would strengthen Islamist terrorists’ resolve. The leaders of France and the United Kingdom also issued statements condemning President Trump, with the U.K. House of Commons even debating a resolution to bar President Trump from entering the country. 46 47 48 Then-Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Reince Priebus criticized the comments. 49

Several months later, President Trump walked back his comments on Muslims, saying that the proposed ban was “just a suggestion.” In office, he modified the entry ban proposal to apply to persons entering the United States from countries with a proven history of terrorism; an initial list of seven, derived from a list developed under the Obama administration for a different purpose, were all majority-Muslim. 50

Controversies

Alleged Russian Interference

Starting in July 2016, the Trump campaign was targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in an investigation to discover whether the campaign was illegally coordinating with the Russian government. 10 On January 6, 2017, two weeks before President Trump’s inauguration, the United States government under former President Barack Obama released a report alleging that the Russian government had interfered in the United States elections to undermine public faith in elections and undermine former Secretary Clinton’s campaign. 11

Following the allegations, Democratic lawmakers prompted years of investigation into the Trump campaign, claiming that it had colluded with Russian officials. 51 In May 2017, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to lead an investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian interference. The Trump campaign vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing. 52

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released a 1,000-page bipartisan report in August 2020 which found that though Trump campaign officials were in frequent contact with Russian government officials, they did not collude to influence the 2016 election. 12

Republican Party Opposition

From the outset, the Trump campaign faced significant backlash from prominent members of the Republican Party, who viewed then-candidate Trump as unserious and denounced his rhetoric. Former First Lady Barbara Bush called President Trump a “comedian” on CBS News, and in February 2016, she called his comments towards former Fox News host Megyn Kelly during one of the Republican primary debates “unbelievable.” 9 Her son, former U.S. President George W. Bush, spent time fundraising for endangered Republican U.S. Senate candidates, rather than supporting the Trump campaign. 53

While most Republican officials eventually supported the 2016 Trump campaign, several spoke out against it. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was an early Trump campaign opponent who claimed that President Trump had a “character and temperament unfit for the leader of the free world.” 9 Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) similarly encouraged Republicans to “stop Trump. Whatever it takes without cheating or violating the rules.” 9

Other Republicans who opposed the Trump campaign included former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), former U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), and former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken (R). 9

Several former bureaucrats from Republican administrations also denounced the Trump campaign, such as former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed President Trump’s opponent. Former U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Warner and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman refused to support the Trump campaign as well. 9

Many prominent Republican and conservative pundits, strategists, and media personalities also opposed the Trump campaign. These included veteran campaign leader Mike Murphy, Republican operative Sally Bradshaw, former RNC chair Marc Racicot, lobbyist Vin Weber, writer Bill Kristol, columnist George Will, prominent writer Charles Krauthammer, and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Bret Stephens. 9

In March 2016, 120 conservative foreign policy and national security leaders published a letter calling then-primary candidate Trump “fundamentally dishonest.” 54 Just 5 months later, 50 Republican national security officials, including former Cabinet secretaries, published an open letter alleging that President trump lacked “the character, values, and experience” for the presidency and claiming that he “would be the most reckless President in American history.” 55

Campaign Rhetoric

The Trump campaign faced several controversies regarding President Trump’s controversial statements and rhetoric while on the campaign trail. In August 2016, President Trump spoke against former Secretary Clinton, claiming that if she won, only “the Second Amendment people” 6 might be able to stop the country from abolishing the Second Amendment. Critics accused President Trump of advocating for gun violence against former Secretary Clinton and left-of-center judges. The Trump campaign denied the allegations, claiming that President Trump was only encouraging pro-gun supporters to vote for him as a bloc to defeat former Secretary Clinton. 6

The campaign also came under fire for controversial statements that then-candidate Trump made regarding authoritarian and totalitarian foreign leaders. President Trump praised authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as “strong” leaders for exacting complete control over their citizens and called compliments that he received from Putin “a great honor.” 56 In January 2016, the Trump campaign faced backlash when President Trump praised Kim Jong Un for having “wiped out” his political opponents. 56

Critics also accused the Trump campaign of supporting a number of unfounded conspiracy theories, including the idea that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had been murdered, the belief that then-President Barack Obama was secretly a Muslim born in Kenya, and the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism in children. 57

Sexual Misconduct Allegations and Access Hollywood Tape

During the Trump 2016 presidential campaign, 24 women accused President Trump of sexual misconduct over the course of 30 years. The Trump campaign repeatedly dismissed the allegations, claiming that the accusers had not reported the alleged incidents at the time and were seeking fame and attention by accusing President Trump as he campaigned. At points, the Trump campaign alleged that the Clinton campaign was encouraging the allegations to “defame” President Trump and claimed that the media was “creating a theatre of absurdity” to “poison the minds of the American public.” 58 59

After the New York Times published an article on October 13, 2016, detailing further allegations, the Trump campaign accused the publication of having a “vendetta” and launching a “coordinated character assassination against Mr. Trump.” The campaign also pointed to President Trump’s history of placing women in executive roles at his companies to rebut the accusations. 60 61

The allegations came on the heels of the release of a 2005 video in which President Trump claimed he could grab women’s genitals and kiss them without consent because he was famous. 58 Immediately after the release of the tape, the Trump campaign responded by calling the statements “locker room banter” which happened “many years ago” in a statement in which President Trump also claimed to have heard “far worse” from former President Bill Clinton. The following day, President Trump apologized for the comments he made in the video. 61

Campaign Leadership

Corey Lewandowski

Over the course of the 2016 election, Trump campaign leadership shifted several times. Corey Lewandowski was Trump’s first campaign manager, appointed in January 2015 to lead exploratory efforts for the Trump campaign. Lewandowski encouraged President Trump’s brash early campaign style, comparing his role to that of putting blinders on a racehorse and then allowing it to run. Lewandowski claimed that President Trump routinely went off scripts as a candidate, including during his presidential announcement speech. 62

Before joining the Trump campaign, Lewandowski worked in a number of congressional offices for Republicans and as a police officer for a brief period. Lewandowski was known for challenging Republican Party establishment officials after supporting former U.S. Senator Robert C. Smith (R-NH) after the Republican Party refused to do so. Lewandowski also worked for Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian-aligned advocacy organization, on voter registration efforts. While there, Lewandowski headed a controversial voter registration initiative that was criticized for allegedly sending inaccurate materials. 63

Lewandowski led early efforts to put Trump campaign staff in key swing states and states with early primaries, running a small staff of 25 through early 2016. In March 2016, Lewandowski was charged with misdemeanor battery after grabbing a reporter who approached President Trump, though the charges were eventually dropped. In June 2016, the Trump campaign fired Lewandowski as it shifted its focus towards fundraising. Prior to becoming the manager of the Trump 2016 campaign, Lewandowski had never worked on a national race, leading skeptics to conclude that he could not challenge the 2016 Clinton campaign. 64

After leaving the Trump campaign, Lewandowski briefly worked as a commentator for CNN and as a lobbyist. In 2019, Lewandowski announced that he was considering a run for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, though he announced in December 2019 that he would not run during the 2020 election cycle. 65

Paul Manafort

Following Lewandowski’s firing, Paul Manafort became chairman of the Trump campaign. 66 Manafort had a long history in Republican politics, managing the 1976 Republican National Convention floor for the contest between then-President Gerald Ford and former Governor of California Ronald Reagan (R). Manafort also held key convention roles for former President George H.W. Bush and former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole. 64

Just one month after taking control of the Trump campaign, Manafort began facing questions from the press about his and the campaign’s ties to the Russian government. Manafort denied all allegations of collusion with the Russian government. In August 2016, the New York Times alleged that Manafort had accepted off-the-books cash payments from Russian-aligned factions in Ukraine while working on overseas campaigns, and the Associated Press reported that Manafort’s lobbying firm had failed to register as a foreign agent. 66

On August 19, Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign. 66 In March 2019, Manafort was sentenced to over 7 years in prison for financial crimes including unregistered lobbying, tax fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering following the Mueller investigation. 67 President Trump pardoned Manafort before leaving office in December 2020. 68

Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway

In summer 2016, the Trump campaign shifted leadership once again, with Paul Manafort stepping down and Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon becoming chairman of the Trump campaign. Political consultant Kellyanne Conway was promoted to campaign manager following Manafort’s departure. 69

Bannon formerly worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and as an officer in the U.S. Navy before becoming a Hollywood producer who created films praising right-of-center officials. Bannon also sat as executive chairman of the controversial, right-wing publication Breitbart News. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon had no experience in political campaigns. 70

After the Trump campaign, Bannon became Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President in the Trump White House, a position which he left after eight months to return to Breitbart. 71 In 2018, Bannon fell out of favor with President Trump for comments he made to controversial liberal journalist Michael Wolff that Wolff published in his critical account of the Trump administration, Fire and Fury. 72 Bannon has since positioned himself as an organizer for right-wing candidates both in the United States and abroad. 73

In August 2020, Bannon was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in relation to the We Build the Wall campaign, which sought to raise funding for a border wall from citizen donations. 74 Bannon pleaded not guilty, and President Trump pardoned him prior to his trial date. 75 In November 2020, Twitter removed Bannon’s account after he suggested that Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded. 76

Kellyanne Conway became the Trump 2016 campaign manager after long serving as an adviser to the Trump campaign. Conway previously worked as an attorney and as a Republican operative who founded her own polling company in 1995 to help right-of-center candidates connect better with women. 70

Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Conway worked for a super PAC which supported the presidential run of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). After Sen. Cruz left the race, Conway joined the Trump campaign as a pollster and senior adviser, though she continued to criticize President Trump’s rhetoric while on the campaign trail. 70 Following President Trump’s election, Conway became Senior Counselor to the President, a position she held until August 2020. 77

Funding

The Donald J. Trump for President campaign committee raised $334.8 million in the 2016 election cycle, just over half of the amount raised by former Secretary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign committee which gathered $623.1 million. 4 Including outside super PACs and fundraising committees, the Trump campaign raised a total of $957.6 million, while the Clinton campaign raised $1.4 billion. 4 Despite raising less than the Clinton campaign, some political strategists have argued that President Trump received free media attention valued at around $5 billion during the campaign cycle. 78

Though Republican campaigns were routinely criticized for accepting funding from large organizations and donors during the 2016 election cycle, the Trump campaign received 26% of its total funding from donations of $200 or less, compared to just 16% raised by the Clinton campaign in small dollar amounts. 4 When President Trump won the 2016 election, he had raised less than any major party presidential nominee since the 2008 bid of U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), for which he accepted public funding. 13

Aside from the official campaign committee, two joint fundraising committees supported the Trump campaign: the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which raised $258.8 million during the election cycle, and Trump Victory, which raised $107.8 million. 13

Several super PACs and outside expenditure groups also supported the Trump campaign. Future45 PAC raised nearly $25 million in support of the campaign. Rebuilding America Now raised $22.6 million, Make America Number 1 raised $20.7 million, and the Our Principles PAC raised $19 million to support the Trump campaign through independent expenditures. Outside organizations supporting President Trump spent $72 million in support of his campaign, less than 30% of the $252 million that left-of-center outside organizations spent in opposition to it. 78

Top Donors

During his campaign, especially in its early days, President Trump donated his own funds and made use of his personal assets. By July 2016, President Trump had self-funded 72% of his campaign, and most of the remaining funding had come from small donors. 79 Over the course of the campaign cycle, President Trump donated $66 million of his own fortune to support his campaign, used his private jet for campaign travel, and hosted campaign events at his extensive network of commercial properties. 13

President Trump himself was the single largest donor to his campaign and associated PACs. Other large donors included GOP megadonors and casino owners Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who contributed $20.5 million to organizations affiliated with the Trump campaign during the election cycle; Linda McMahon, who contributed $7.2 million; members of hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer’s family, who also contributed $7.2 million; and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, who contributed $7 million. 13

Aside from direct donations to campaign organizations, several prominent donors contributed to outside PACs in support of the Trump campaign. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel gave $1 million to Trump campaign affiliates, while the Mercer family spent over $15 million on outside organizations to support the campaign. Then-Marvel Entertainment executive Isaac Perlmutter and his wife contributed over $5 million to campaign efforts as well. 14

Several large donors to the Trump campaign and affiliated organizations went on to accept positions in the Trump administration. New York Jets owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV and Alliance Resource Partners CEO Joseph Craft III each donated $1 million to the inauguration following the election, and they became U.S. Ambassadors to the United Kingdom and Canada respectively following the election. Coal mogul Robert Murray donated $300,000 to the inauguration. 14

Rejection by Large Republican Donors

Though President Trump won the Republican nomination, many prominent donors did not back his presidential campaign. 79 In June 2016, USA Today reported that just 29 of the 1,400 people who contributed to a super PAC which supported Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign also supported the Trump campaign. 80

Major Republican donors including businessman Paul Singer, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and unsuccessful California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, health care executive Mike Fernandez, and billionaire financier Seth Klarman all opposed the Trump campaign, with several going so far as to work on behalf of the Clinton campaign and calling a Trump presidency “unthinkable.” 9

In August 2016, businessman and major right-of-center donor Charles Koch explained to a gathering of other right-of-center figures and donors why he was withholding donations to the Trump campaign and encouraged others in his nearly billion-dollar conservative fundraising network to do the same. Koch vowed that he would not support either President Trump or former Secretary Clinton, claiming that doing so would compromise the network’s values and ability to “hold any politician accountable.” The network had spent over $400 million in support of Republicans in 2012. 81

References

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