When I first heard about the sketchy Super PACs and the dark money scandals, I wondered if there were any related to Trump, his campaigning, and his presidency. I was shocked to see that when I started researching I saw articles with Titles like Trump doesn't want this Super PAC and Trump slams others for being in cahoots with Super PACs. So then I wondered, why would anyone not want a Super PAC's help.
As I was reading about Super PAC "Keeping America Great" run by Corey Stewart, it made sense. Stewart and Keeping America Great are accused of "stoking white supremacists," and have supported people such as U.S. Rep Dave Brat. Seeing them support Trump, and as strongly as they do, makes Trump look like a white supremacist. Even if he is, the publicity for this fact may hurt his campaigning with everyone else who doesn't believe in white supremacy. Trump's campaign has openly made it clear that they want nothing to do with this Super PAC and instead are suggesting that the pro-Trump people should give their money to the Super Pac America First Action, one he does support. Now if you are wondering how this makes Stewart feel: "'I'm starting to feel like an abused dog who keeps getting kicked trying to help the president out,' Stewart said." But, he will not give up! He has raised "$11,400 for 2020 so far" for Trump. Money that Trump keeps saying he doesn't want. However, it is possible that he is just saying this on the outside but is actually appreciating the money on the down low. We don't know.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-campaign-pro-trump-super-pacs-group/story?id=63081874
This is really interesting. We talked about Super PACs in class, but I didn't think about the fact that candidates may not want help from certain groups because it may depict a certain version of themselves that they don't want to convey to the public. It's a shame that we can't know whether or not Trump truly believes in not wanting the money of the white supremacist audio because that may cause an issue for certain voters. Specifically, they could be voting for a President saying that he doesn't support white supremacy but morally doesn't truly care, resulting in them voting for someone they truthfully wouldn't want in office. Of course, I'm not saying that Trump does support white supremacy, but it's a possibility that he wants to accept this money and simply wants to convey a different image of himself to his voters.
ReplyDeleteI looked into Trump and super PACs a little further, and I think the most interesting part to me is how flippant Trump is with his opinions of super PACs. When he first started running in 2016, he bashed them, saying he didn't want any help from them. this was a smart move politically, as a lot of citizens agreed with this viewpoint. However, the super PACs raised and spent over $72 million helping Trump get elected, and he seems to have embraced them. Now, gearing up for the 2020 elections, he has already been regularly appearing at super PAC fundraising events and praising their help. I believe that a lot of what Trump says, especially in regards to super PACs cannot be trusted, and voters instead need to look at his actions. Unfortunately, it is usually speaks and phrases that voters hear, so actions may not weigh as heavily as they should with the general public not spending much time researching the electoral candidates and instead blindly voting down party lines.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/donald-trump-army-super-pacs-maga-nonprofits/