Trump campaign asks for a cut of donations from down-ballot candidates using his likeness

Donald Trump’s campaign is asking all candidates and committees for a cut of donations if they elect to use his name and likeness, according to a letter sent to Republican digital vendors on Monday.

“Beginning tomorrow, we ask that all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump’s name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC. This includes but is not limited to sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising,” Trump's co-campaign managers detail in the letter, furthering that “any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump's campaign.” It also clarifies the actions that the campaign does not condone, such as "questioning the readers' support of President Trump” or “impersonating President Trump or his campaign.”

The campaign warns that “vendor[s] whose clients ignore the guidelines mentioned above will be held responsible for their clients' actions,” including, for repeated violators, “the suspension of business relationships between the vendor and Trump National Committee JFC.”

As Trump finds himself in deep fundraising troubles — with President Biden widening the gap in donations between the two to $75 million in the first quarter of 2024 — added to the start of his New York criminal trial, which is expected to largely keep him off the campaign trail for the next several weeks and burn millions in legal fees, this move tracks.

In 2023, his campaign rolled-out a “Trump Seal of Approval,” which similarly sought to rein in the use of Trump’s name (and thwart scams) in Republican campaigning. The seal has been given to a grip of the former President’s most loyal allies, like Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s re-election campaigns.