I Am Donald Trump’s Only Hope

The former president wants supporters to protest the Manhattan DA’s investigation. House Republicans just want me to donate $24.

Donald Trump and Rep. Kevin McCarthy in 2020Alex Brandon/AP

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When Donald Trump announced that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, he called on supporters to take to the streets. “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” he wrote. Trump’s rhetoric spurred the Manhattan district attorney—who is reportedly conducting a criminal investigation of the former president—to promise security measures. It’s still unclear what any such MAGA mobilization might look like, and at least some on the right seem to be discouraging demonstrations.

But it turns out there’s an easier way to fight back against the “radical Soros-backed” prosecutor tormenting Trump: You can just send $24 to House Republicans, instead.

“BREAKING NEWS: President Trump Indicted?!” warned an email sent last night by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP’s main campaign arm for the US House. “You’re our country’s ONLY hope.”

“Make no mistake – the Radical Left is trying to use this latest witch hunt to intimidate you,” the missive continued. “We need every single patriot to immediately condemn this witch hunt.”

When I clicked the link to sign, it took me directly to a donation page, complete with the infamous pre-checked “monthly recurring donation” box. The potential prosecution of the most recent GOP president, it seems, is as good an opportunity as any to bag some grassroots campaign contributions.

I didn’t donate, but the NRCC tried again this morning. “This is the most important email we’ve EVER sent you,” the Republicans declared. “Backing down now means conceding our country to the Radical Left FOREVER.”

Once again, the NRCC’s ask was simple. No demands for a peaceful protest. No calls for a violent riot. Just an urgent request to save the country by chipping in $24.

But once again, I failed to do my part.

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You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

payment methods

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