GoFundMe for Trump Picking Up Steam

Whether you like or loathe Donald Trump, or even if you are ambivalent about him, there can be no doubt that he has been hit with the lawfare torpedoes. During my news sojourns, I visit conservative pages whose writers think that Trump running for a second term is only just shy of a national calamity, and even they contend that Trump's legal battles have been about nothing more than keeping him off the ballot. One might muse that Judge Arthur Engoron has been workin' on the railroad to the point he could qualify as the shop steward at Union Pacific.

Or as the Babylon Bee succinctly put it: "Judge Orders Trump to Pay Whatever Amount Bankrupts Campaign."

And Trump is facing an uphill battle. Writing at National Review, Andrew McCarthy notes that between the two E. Jean Carroll cases and the Engoron ruling, the appeals alone could run Trump somewhere in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars. That is a hefty sum, even for Trump. McCarthy notes that there have been rumors that much of Trump's campaign funds have been going for attorney's fees, and he comments that Trump will likely need to pay for his appeals out of his own funds. Furthermore, the article cites a comment by NYU constitutional law professor Richard Pildes that a candidate is not permitted to use campaign funds to pay judgments or bonds that would be posted for appeals. Whether or not Trump has the cash on hand or would be able to liquidate enough assets to meet the costs is unknown. And the clock is ticking for him to file.

Enter Elena Cardone. She is the wife of Grant Cardone, who has assets totaling $400 billion. According to American Wire, she has begun a GoFundMe campaign to help Trump meet his legal bills. The crowd-funding effort is targeted specifically at the $355 million judgment handed down by Engoron.

Stand up for your country America!
This is no longer political, Republican, or Democrat. It’s about freedom.

If a judge can decide fraud on a citizen when there is NO FINANCIAL DAMAGE what can they do to you?

Fund the $355M Unjust Judgment https://t.co/L5BCSwFboW
— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) February 17, 2024

On the GoFundMe page, Elena notes that the effort is not simply about raising the funds to pay off the judgment. It is a call for unity among Americans who see the injustice that was done by the ruling, and the effect that it could have on everyone in the country:

The fact that a business owner did a loan with a bank, never defaulted, nor missed a payment, pays back the loan with interest and caused no financial damage to anyone, yet, the government overreaches and slaps a business owner with a $355M ruling should terrify all business owners and entrepreneurs.
Is this Government seizing assets? Seeking financial ruin?
This is more than a legal fund; it's a call to all businesses owners and entrepreneurs to rally in defense of all businesses and for man who has never hesitated to stand in defense of us. (sic)

In addition to his wife's page, Grant has announced that his firm, Cardone Capital, will no longer "waste time" in New York and will instead double its efforts in Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Florida.

A check of the GoFundMe page showed that as of Tuesday evening, 14,000 people had donated $751,299, including an anonymous donation of $10,000.