Trump’s campaign cash bid

THE next US election is still more than 1200 days away, but Donald Trump is already drumming up cash to pay for his campaign — and chose the Trump International Hotel, two steps from the White House, as a fundraising venue.

Yesterday the 45th president of the United States took part in a dinner benefiting the Republican Party and his own reelection bid, with a seat at the table reportedly starting at $35,000 — and rising to $100,000 for super donors.

The White House is upfront about the president’s intention to seek a second term.

“Of course he is running for re-election,” Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

“But right now, he is focused on his agenda, focused on the midterms, and raising money for the party,” she said. “I don’t think that’s abnormal for any president.” The US leader himself has often referred to his plans for the eight years to come.

While the phenomenon leaves many uncomfortable, it has long been part of American political life for the president to contribute star power to fundraising events — be it for his party or his own cause.

But in the case of the business mogul-turned-president Trump, things are a bit more complicated: the rich donors coming to hear to him speak this week were contributing not only to his future campaign, but to his real estate empire as well.

It comes after some 200 Democratic lawmakers recently sued the president, arguing that he is violating the Constitution by accepting foreign payments through his empire of hotels, golf courses and other properties.

A separate suit filed by the attorneys general of Maryland and the US capital claims the Trump International Hotel, which opened a few weeks before the November election, enjoys an unfair advantage over rival venues due to its links to the presidency.