Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is asking down-ballot Republican candidates to send along 5% of their donation hauls to the 45th president if they choose to use his “name, image and likeness” in their solicitations.
A Monday letter to GOP digital vendors signed by top Trump advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita called for “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC [Joint Fundraising Committee]” starting the following day.
“This includes but is not limited to sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising,” adds the letter from Wiles and LaCivita, first reported by Politico.
“Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s
campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations,” the pair went on.
The letter emerged as the 77-year-old Trump, the prospective Republican presidential nominee, struggles to match President Biden’s fundraising hauls.
The letter also outlined language that vendors should avoid when discussing Trump — including purporting to speak on behalf of the former president, questioning voters’ support of him, and impersonating the campaign.
“These examples above are by no means an exhaustive list of language and tactics we’d like for
campaigns to avoid. We ask that you please use your best judgment,” the letter reads.
“Any vendor whose clients ignore the guidelines mentioned above will be held responsible for their clients’ actions.”
Beyond the 5% ask, the letter states that those candidates who have been given the Trump Seal of Approval “will be allowed to have one upsell that is personally signed by President Trump.”
The upsell donation requests have the “highest conversion rates and dollars per view,” said Wiles and LaCivita, who asked for “a 1% split on these upsells.”
Republican National Committee spokesperson Danielle Alvarez argued the letter was sent with the aim of shielding donors from being ripped off, but did not mention the premium for using Trump’s face.
“It is important to protect small-dollar donors from scammers that use the president’s name and likeness,” Alvarez told The Post.
The former president’s team recently built up their coffers with a mega-fundraising event in Palm Beach, receiving more than $50 million in donations.
But the campaign is still lagging behind Biden, 81, in the money race, as they have to deal with rising legal costs relating to Trump’s court cases.
In March, the Trump camp and RNC brought in over $65 million combined and ended the month with more than $91.3 million cash on hand — while the Biden team raised over $90 million in the same month, bringing the incumbent’s total cash on hand to a record $192 million.
Trump’s team has said they recognize that they won’t match Biden dollar-for-dollar, but insist they only need a fraction of his haul to win in November.
