David Fahrenthold reports today that Donald Trump’s $6 million fundraiser for veterans actually raised only $4.5 million. I don’t have a big problem with that. Sometimes people make pledges and then back out of them. That’s life in the fundraising biz, where a 75 percent fulfillment rate probably isn’t unheard of. But Fahrenthold managed to identify two of the donors who backed out. One was a shopping mall magnate. The other was…
The other donor had made a much bigger promise: Trump, with his vow to give $1 million. In the past few days, The Post has interviewed 22 veterans charities that received donations as a result of Trump’s fundraiser. None of them have reported receiving personal donations from Trump.
Did Trump make good on his promise to give from his personal funds? “The money is fully spent. Mr. Trump’s money is fully spent,” Lewandowski said.
Who did Trump give to, and in what amounts? “He’s not going to share that information,” Lewandowski said.
This is just weird. Is it really possible that Trump reneged on his promise to donate $1 million? That would be completely nuts. It would be like me promising to toss in twenty bucks for an office party gift and then backing out, even though I knew there was a good chance I’d be caught. What kind of pathological skinflint would do that?
And yet, if he has donated $1 million, what possible reason is there for not telling us where it went? That’s crazy too, since it inevitably leads to stories just like this one. Even Trump’s most rabid fans would probably hold it against him if it turns out he lied about making a donation to veterans.
Aside from everything else, Trump is one seriously weird dude.
