Trump has all but declared a 2024 presidential bid. But if he did, he'd be subject to tighter rules.- A Democratic group has accused Trump of violating the law by not officially declaring his candidacy.
Trump, ousted from the White House after losing the 2020 election but still in firm control of the Republican Party, has all but said that he intends to seek the presidency for a third time.
In January, he referred to himself as the "45th and the 47th" president during a round of golf. And over the weekend at a rally in South Carolina, he said, "In 2024, we are going to take back that beautiful, beautiful White House. I wonder who will do that. I wonder. I wonder."
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 13, 2022
American Bridge said Trump was using his Save America PAC — registered as a political committee in support of multiple candidates — as a vehicle for his own 2024 ambitions, and that he must register his PAC as a presidential campaign committee in order to comply with the law.
That would subject him to tighter campaign-finance regulations, including a $2,900 limit on individual political contributions until the 2024 general election.
The group mentioned Trump's own statements in recent months to build its case.
In one instance, Trump even seemed to acknowledge that he was withholding an official declaration of his candidacy in order to skirt campaign-finance regulations.
"I know what I'm going to do, but we're not supposed to be talking about it yet from the standpoint of campaign-finance laws," Trump said in September when asked about a potential 2024 bid.
The group asked the commission to investigate the matter and "fine Mr. Trump the maximum amount permitted by law" if he was found in violation of the law.
In response, Taylor Budowich, Trump's spokesperson, told The New York Times, which first reported on the complaint, that Democrats were "busy filing frivolous complaints that have zero merit."
As Insider previously reported, experts disagreed on whether Trump could be found in contravention of the law in this case.
"If he starts to spend money pursuing a run for office, that could trigger candidacy," Ken Gross, a former associate general counsel of the
Ann Ravel, a former Democratic FEC commissioner, disagreed.
"This appears to be a decision to run since he did not qualify it by saying 'if I run' — but stated that he planned to be the 47th president," she said in January, referring to the golf-course incident. "So if he starts raising money, he must register as a candidate to disclose all his expenditures and contributions."
American Bridge said Trump raised over $1 million and spent over $100,000 each week since speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, where he said, "We're going to be doing it again a third time."
Regardless of the merits of the complaint, it's unlikely that the FEC will take action anytime soon.
The commission still has a significant backlog of cases, the result of an extended period in which the body lacked a quorum, and it recently let Trump off the hook for "soft money" campaign-finance violations that his campaign had acknowledged.