Small bucks adding up for Trump

Modest donations fill war chest, keep backers feeling connected

David Perry of Pompano Beach gives $50 every month. Mark Burke of Coral Springs contributes $100. And Pat Romano of West Boca gives twice a month, for a total of $85, automatically debited from her checking account. Lou Sola of Miami gave $35,000 one day in June, just a few days after Jose “Pepe” Fanjul of Palm Beach kicked in $100,000.

Their donations were among 945, large and small, from South Floridians to President Donald Trump’s campaign or affiliated political committees during the second quarter.

Thanks largely to fiveand six-figure contributions from people in the worlds of business and finance — and the society scene in Palm Beach, where Trump takes winter-season sojourns at his Mar-a-Lago Club — South Florida provided 70 percent of the money contributed by Floridians in April, May and June. The cash went to the Donald J. Trump for President cam-

paign committee, the Trump Victory fund and the Trump Make America Great Again committee.

Small amounts

Though the small number of high-dollar donors such as Sola and Fanjul attract attention and quickly pump up the bottom line, the contributions from people such as Perry, Burke and Romano may be far more significant.

“Going after those small-dollar contributors is really important for keeping them energized,” said Richard DeNapoli, a former Broward Republican chairman who was one of South Florida’s earliest Trump supporters. “It’s not just about money.”

The bond formed with supporters who sign up to give money every two or four weeks is especially powerful. And it means Trump’s campaign organization won’t have to build a new network of supporters from scratch, hoping to find new email addresses and phone numbers of potential supporters in a few years.

For the donors, “contributing that money means they are psychologically invested in something. They want to continue to be part of that because they feel they made the difference. And they did. If it were not for those voters, he would not have won the primaries and would not be president,” said DeNapoli, who is currently the state committeeman representing Broward on the state Republican Party’s governing board.

Kevin Wagner, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University, said that bond is important and powerful. “They start to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” he said. “It makes them feel like they’re doing something to support what they believe.”

That describes Burke, 54, a self-employed contractor and former Air Force pilot.

Fed up with political candidates, he became an independent voter who went back and forth between the two parties’ candidates.

Trump’s message resonated so much with Burke that he became a Republican so he could vote in the 2016 Florida presidential primary. He attended several Trump rallies in South Florida, volunteered to help the campaign, and began donating $100 a month — the first time he’d ever given money to a candidate.

“I trust him,” Burke said. Constant communications from the campaign provide reinforcement. “You feel like you’re part of it.”

Helen Stein of Boca Raton said she gave $100 in May because she’s committed to the president. Formerly an independent who switched to Republican last year, Stein, 47, said she “never, never” gave a dollar to a political candidate before Trump.

“I agree with his politics,” she said.

Trump filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to begin raising re-election money on the day he was inaugurated, the earliest ever for a president. Stein said the president needs to raise reelection money so early because he’ll need a second term to fulfill his agenda.

Even though Trump won’t be in the throes of a re-election campaign for another three years, Romano said that at age 76, she wants to give while she can.

Romano said she hasn’t always been a Trump fan. “I thought he was an ass,” she said.

But that changed on the day in 2015 when he descended on an escalator in Trump Tower in New York and announced his candidacy. “I just sat back and listened and listened, and as I heard him talk, I sat back and thought this is a man who is a billionaire, but he knows the concerns of the middle class.”

She volunteered on the campaign, making phone calls and knocking on doors. She also began twice-a-month donations, contributing $125 a month during the campaign. More recently, she’s gone to $85 a month.

“When something or someone is trying super hard to make this country great, after everything we’ve been through, I have to do my share,” she said. “He’s like an electric bill. That way I know it’s gone. I know we’re getting it to him and he’s going to make good use of it. If I didn’t trust the man, he’d never get a penny from me. Trust me.”

Romano said she has no qualms about one Trump campaign expense: $50,000 in late June to the law firm representing Donald Trump Jr., who has come under scrutiny over whether he had any involvement in allegations that the 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.

“Something like that’s not going to stop me from donating. Because it’s his son I’m helping. He’s family,” she said. Donald J. Trump for President spent $678,000 on legal fees in the second quarter.

While Washington, D.C., pundits and some prominent Republicans give the president poor grades, the flow of small contributions to the president’s re-election fund shows “there is a great number of people just under the radar who are supporting the guy,” said Larry Casey, a Republican strategist.

Casey, a Republican from Palm Beach Gardens who has managed congressional campaigns and runs congressional offices, was not an early Trump supporter. He said contributions are “small, little pieces of evidence out there that … the people who are really anti-D.C. [are] cheering this guy all the way.”

Perry, 43, gives $50 a month, money he said “is wisely spent.”

“I think he’s doing fantastic,” said Perry, who is self-employed in property management. “He’s doing everything that he promised that he would do.”

Jon Ahlbum, 73 of Coconut Creek, once a Broward Republican Party committeeman, said he started supporting Trump during the presidential primary debates and gives the president relatively high marks — and $50 a month.

“He’s on the right track and he’s got good ideas and he’s trying hard,” he said. “I think he’s done some things himself that he probably should think twice about doing, but I still think he’s on the right track. I still support him, no matter what.”

Ahlbum, whose business sells Medicare supplement policies, and Stein, an engineer who stays at home raising her family’s children, fault Congress for failing to fully implement Trump’s agenda.

Romano said she, too, is committed to Trump, who she sees as keeping his promises or attempting to keep them. “He may not be perfect, but who is?” she said. “I’ve never heard anybody so lambasted as this poor guy.”

The retiree said she doesn’t shy away from showing her support, even in West Boca, which is some of the most Democrat-heavy territory in South Florida — and even though her Trump T-shirt, hat and bracelet sometimes spark negative reactions.

“I don’t keep it private. I wear my Make America Great Again hat; my daughter gets nervous. I wear my Trump bracelet; my daughter gets nervous,” she said. “When I go to the grocery store, I don’t hide.”

Burke said he’s not 100 percent in favor of everything Trump does. He said he wishes the president would sometimes exercise greater self-control. “You want to say, ‘Can you just shut up and focus on what you said you’re going to do?’ and he gets lost in the minutiae of other people shaking shiny objects at him.”

But, Burke said, he wholeheartedly supports Trump and has no intention of scaling back his contributions. “You know what? I’m not president and I’m not a billionaire. So I just have to sit back and watch. You have to have faith in the ones that are your leaders.”

Wagner said the small contributions often mean something different than large checks.

“The people who donate small amounts each month tend to be true believers,” he said. “Sometimes major players will donate for access, to influence policy.”

Big money

People such as Sola and Fanjul have long provided the cash that fuels presidential candidates and political parties.

Sola is founder and CEO of Evermarine, which sells and services megayachts. Fanjul is part of the family that owns Florida Crystals, which grows, refines and markets sugar.

Last year, Fanjul gave $200,000 to the Trump Victory committee, $33,400 to the Republican National Committee, and $5,400 (the maximum allowed) to the Trump campaign. Florida Crystals contributed $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration. Fanjul’s brother Alfonso, known as a big donor to Democrats, gave $300,000 to the Hillary [Clinton] Victory Fund last year.

Other $100,000 South Florida contributions to Trump Victory include Bruce Berkowitz of Coral Gables, founder of Fairholme Capital Management; Charles B. Johnson of Palm Beach, the billionaire chairman of Franklin resources, parent of Franklin Templeton; and Ann L. Johnson of Palm Beach, Johnson’s wife. Representatives of Fanjul and many of South Florida’s other big givers declined to comment or didn’t respond to inquiries.

Sola’s $35,000 donation in June was the price of admission for the first big fundraiser of the Trump presidency, held at the Trump International Hotel in Washington.

The money went to Trump Victory, which, like the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, is a joint fundraising vehicle that takes in money for the president’s re-election campaign, the Republican National Committee and other party committees.

Sola said a critical use for contributions such as his is to help the Republican National Committee with its data program, “which I believe is the best investment in politics these days.”

Like many prominent Florida Republicans, Sola, 49, started out supporting former Gov. Jeb Bush for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, then U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla. But as Trump headed toward the nomination, Sola offered money and support.

Records show he gave more than $200,000 to the Trump campaign and the RNC last year. Earlier this year he gave $10,000 directly to the Republican National Committee. His biography on the networking website LinkedIn shows a picture of Sola holding a Trump sign at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. His Facebook page includes photos with Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman and recently ousted White House chief of staff, at a Trump Tower event just before Election Day, and with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during inaugural festivities in Washington.

Sola said Trump is doing well so far and will do even better when he has his administration fully staffed. “He’s still putting his team together. I would like to see more team members in place. I like a lot of the people he’s got into place.”

Trump filed to start raising re-election cash on Inauguration Day, the earliest ever for a president.