Donald Trump’s newly formed PAC, the Save America PAC, raised more than $30 million in the weeks after the November election, largely fueled by false claims of election fraud and conspiracies against Trump, the Washington Post reports.
While Trump raised the money through emails and texts proclaiming that he was cheated out of an election victory and implying the the funds would be used in efforts to overturn the election results and defend Georgia Senate seats, according to documents filed Sunday, the Save America PAC didn’t spend a dollar on either endeavor.
Through the fundraising campaigns, the Trump PAC, Trump official election committees and the RNC were able to raise more than $290 million in the last weeks of 2020.
The money raised by the Save America PAC can now be used by Trump, his family and advisors to fund future political activities, but given the broad allowances for leadership PACs, the money can also be used to support the Trumps’ lifestyle by paying for travel, hotels and entertainment. They can also be used to fund future political rallies featuring the Trumps.
Leadership PACs are set up by candidates to help other candidates in separate races. The $30 million raised by Trump blows away the money raised by most leadership PACs: in the 2019-2020 cycle, the Republican Majority Committee PAC affiliated with Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy raised just over $5 million to help other Republican candidates.