Donald Trump is pumping his voters for millions in deposits

Witch hunts are expensive, even for the alleged witch. Now Donald Trump, who was convicted of fraud and also sees himself as a victim of an unfair trial, has to scrape together around $450 million by March 25th.

From the point of view of his lawyers, this would be “practically impossible” until then (the star reported). Her client is of course very wealthy, but his billions are not in the bank, but are tied up in stocks and real estate. Bail companies also didn't want to advance Trump's bail. The risk of ending up stuck with a pawn ticket is obviously too great.

It is unlikely that the Republican presidential candidate will find the money in the crack of the sofa at the last second. And so the billionaire jingles with the digital bell bag.

Donald Trump's begging email – “Keep your hands away from Trump Tower!”

Trump is probably the only man who begs in capital letters. “GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF TRUMP TOWER!” was the subject line of an email sent to his “Make America Great Again” mailing list on Thursday.

The “crazy radical” Attorney General Letitia James “wants to CONFUSE my properties in New York. This includes the iconic Trump Tower,” writes the 77-year-old. This is nothing but an attempt at intimidation by the Democrats, “who think that if they take my money I will GIVE UP.”

Then Trump, who actually specializes in divisiveness, conjures up a sense of unity. “They think that YOU will abandon me and that YOU will abandon our country. But one thing they don't know: WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!” the Republican rumbles.

That New York law enforcement provided credible evidence that the Trump Organization had been manipulating real estate values ​​for years to obtain cheaper loans and insurance? All part of a political witch hunt. As loyal voters, please donate to send a message to “Biden's corrupt regime,” Trump writes in the email, as if it were about his personal Orange Nose Day.

Can Trump spend campaign donations “privately”?

It is questionable, however, whether Trump is even allowed to misuse the love of his supporters. After all, the donations are essentially campaign funds and cannot be used privately – and a court ruling like this is pretty private. Every cent that a so-called Political Action Committee (PAC) raises and spends is supposed to somehow help get a candidate into the White House.

“Settling a personal court judgment does not fall into this category,” explains Robert Maguire, research director at a Washington ethics think tank, in Business Insider. However, the regulations are quite opaque.

Most recently, the broadcaster CNN and the AP news agency reported that Republican donations should from now on primarily fill Trump's campaign coffers, from which he in turn skims millions of dollars for his armada of lawyers. The Republican National Committee (RNC), the party's highest organizational body, would therefore only be in second place. Just two weeks ago, the RNC had new leadership – including Lara Trump, the patriarch's daughter-in-law. “America First” becomes “Trump First.”

Proud to the point of destruction

Now particularly zealous disciples may want to get around your Presidents flock like moths to a flame. But even if every single one of the “ONE MILLION pro-Trump patriots,” as the Republican calls them in the email, pulls out their credit card, they will barely raise half a billion dollars in less than a week.

The Republican cannot hope for concessions from the authorities either. His lawyers had asked that bail be either suspended entirely or at least reduced to $100 million.

No, if Trump still wants to save his appointment, he has to dig deep into his bag of tricks.

Trump could theoretically, at least temporarily, pull himself out of the affair by acting like a bankrupt vulture. If his Trump Organization or even he himself files for bankruptcy, that could delay the penalty demand for months or even years, as the Washington Post reports. After all, a federal judge would first have to bring order to the endless queue of creditors. To maintain the glossy facade, Trump could also sacrifice smaller businesses – or even sell some of his properties himself.

But that would not only damage his pride, but also his image as a doer. That is out of the question for him, the newspaper writes, citing four sources close to the Republican.

Truth Social – fresh billions from the stock market?

So the only hope left is that a super-rich patron will reveal himself in the last few meters? Not quite. Because on Friday a promising new option suddenly emerged when news broke that Trump's social media company was to merge with the listed, extremely liquid Digital World Acquisition Corporation. According to the New York Times, the merger would not only bring around 300 million into the Trump Media & Technology Group and thus keep its in-house social media platform Truth Social alive. Trump would hold 60 percent shares in the new company – worth more than three billion dollars.

The big but: Trump is only allowed to sell his shares six months after the merger – unless the company board makes an exception. So it's getting tight. Even for Donald Trump, the clock doesn't tick any slower.

If the ex-president is unable to pay by Monday, the man with the cuckoo will probably not show up on his doorstep straight away. However, Attorney General Letita James is already looking at real estate in Westchester County, where Trump owns the Seven Springs golf resort and a huge estate.

Until then it says: Billionaire, male, 77, looking for patrons.

Sources: “Business Insider”; CNN; AP; “The Hill”; “The Guardian”; “Washington Post”