Trump Has $400 Million For The GOP. He’d Rather Sell Them A Selfie.

Source: Silicon Bay Partners’ Staff with assistance from ChatGPT
Photo: ChatGPT

Donald Trump is sitting on a political war chest of more than $400 million, courtesy of the donors who presumably thought they were helping Republicans win elections.

Republican candidates, meanwhile, are looking at the 2026 midterms and wondering whether that money might eventually find its way out of the vault.

So far, not so much.

MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, has spent less than 1% of its roughly $400 million stash on political advertising this year, according to reporting based on Federal Election Commission filings and AdImpact data. Republican lawmakers are increasingly urging Trump to open the wallet before their campaigns run out of time—and money.

But Trump appears to have discovered a more lucrative strategy:

Charge Republicans to get close to him.

Forget the old-fashioned concept of spending the money to help candidates. Why give away your cash when you can make the candidates—and their donors—pay you for the privilege of raising it?

Welcome to the Trump GOP Midterm Convention, where apparently the American political system has been converted into a very exclusive dinner theater with a cash register at the door.

Here’s the menu:

Trump Roundtable: $250,000 per person
Trump Photo: $88,600
JD Vance Roundtable: $75,000
Vance Photo: $35,000
General admission: $10,000–$25,000
Premium packages: Up to $100,000
Host Committee: As much as $443,000 per couple

Yes, $88,600 for a photograph.

At that price, you’d think Trump would at least promise to stand still.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Republican National Committee is using the September 9–10 Dallas convention to raise millions, with Trump and Vance headlining the fundraising events. And that’s the delicious irony. Republicans are begging Trump to spend his enormous political fortune helping them survive the midterms.

Trump’s response, essentially:

“Why spend $400 million when I can sell you access to me?” It’s capitalism at its purest—or politics at its most Trumpian.

The party needs money to buy television ads, organize voters, and defend vulnerable seats. Trump apparently needs something else:

A bigger receipt.

Fine print: Political party membership, campaign contributions and proximity to the president sold separately. Emotional trauma included at no additional charge.