Trump demands that three Republican groups stop raising money off his name

Former President Donald Trump has clashed again with his Republican Party, demanding that three Republican groups stop using his name and likeness for fundraising, a Trump adviser said Saturday.

The adviser, confirming a report in Politico, said lawyers for Trump on Friday had sent cease-and-desist letters to the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Campaign and National Republican Senate Campaign, asking them to stop using his name and likeness on fundraising emails and merchandise.

The adviser said Trump is sensitive to the use of his name and likeness for branding purposes and was irked that the three groups have supported Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in voting to impeach him over the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump protesters.

Trump is using his Save America Super PAC to raise money in part to help handpicked Republican candidates in the 2022 congressional elections. Some of them are expected to challenge Republican incumbents.

A civil war has erupted within the Republican Party, with establishment figures such as Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell eager to put Trump in the rearview mirror and others, like Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, believing the party’s future depends on the energy of the pro-Trump base.

Trump has waged a war of words with establishment Republicans, some of whom he feels betrayed him by joining Democrats in impeaching him. Trump dangled the possibility of running for president again in 2024 when he addressed a conference last Sunday.