In a deep dive into how Donald Trump has turned a Mar-a-Lago bridal suite into a virtual "shadow G.O.P. headquarters," the New York Times' Shane Goldmacher reveals that aspiring lawmakers are paying people purporting to be close to the former president for help in getting his endorsement which they hope will boost their candidacies.
With some observers saying Trump is turning his luxury Florida resort into a modern-day Tammany Hall (described by Goldmacher as "a New York City political machine that endured for nearly two centuries, owed its longevity to its spreading around of patronage"), the report goes to state that Trump seems satisfied with holding court at his resort and playing kingmaker although there are some concerns he may be betting on the wrong horses.
"Those close to Mr. Trump say he draws gratification from the raw exercise of his power. He will listen to the lobbying of senior Republicans, like Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House G.O.P. leader, and then turn on them with little warning," the Times is reporting before adding, "Mr. Trump can be downright stingy. Though he holds rallies for some candidates, for many his support goes no farther than an email and a $5,000 check."
"Republicans who have sought his support and G.O.P. officials and strategists who are grappling with his influence," Goldmacher wrote. "Mr. Trump plainly relishes the power. But as he hints repeatedly about a third White House bid, the looming question is whether he can remain a kingmaker if he doesn’t actually seek the crown."
According the report, Trump and those around him are profiting from the flood of those seeking access, with Mar-a-Lago having taken in nearly $1.3 million for political events in the hopes of catching the president's eye.
Add to that, GOP hopefuls are willing to pay for more direct access, the report claims.
"A phalanx of Trump whisperers has emerged with candidates paying them in hopes of lining up meetings, ensuring that he sees damaging research on their rivals or strategically slipping him a survey showing a surge in the polls, even as Trump alumni warn that it is always buyer-beware in the Trump influence game," the Times reported. "In many ways, the endorsement chase is a real-life reprisal of Mr. Trump’s old reality-television role."
“What was ‘The Apprentice’ but a sad scramble of people behaving like crabs in a bucket to be lifted out by him?” pointed out Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio. "How are these people anything other than contestants vying for his approval?”
The report also notes that meetings with Trump, when they are arranged, don't always go smoothly.
"In one oft-recounted scene, Mr. Trump pulled several Ohio Senate candidates into a room last year at Mar-a-Lago, where they began verbally attacking one another as he watched. 'Things went off the rails,' said one candidate, Bernie Moreno, who blamed his rivals, not Mr. Trump, for the mayhem. Mr. Moreno has since dropped out, not wanting to divide the pro-Trump vote," the Times reported before adding that Trump only got around to making his endorsement for author J.D. Vance just this week.
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