Cities Have Now Learned That If You Don't Get Trump To Pay In Advance, You Don't Get Paid

Trump's Modus Operandi: Sue Me

Erie, Pennsylvania is the fifth largest city in the state. The county of the same name has over 270,000 residents, 81% of whom are white, 7% Black, 4% Hispanic and 2% Asian. It’s a swing county. In 2016 it went for Trump with 48.01% and then in 2020 it went for Biden with 49.66%. Trump had 60,069 voters in 2016 and 66,860 voters in 2020. Last year former Congresswoman, Blue Dog Kathy Dahlkemper (defeated by Republican Mike Kelly in 2008) was replaced by Republican Brenton Davis as county executive. The county legislature has 4 Dems and 3 Republicans. 47.2% of the registered voters are Democrats, 38.3% are Republicans and 14.5% are independent of third party. Still, both state senators are Republicans and the 6 state House Reps are split 50/50— 3 Dems and 3 Republicans. MAGA Republican and psycho-election denier Mike Kelly represents the county in Congress. He’s both an inside stock trader, a conspiracy theory nut, a crook who took $970,000 in loans— later forgiven— for his used car lots as part of PPP, a homophobic maniac and a traitor who was at the center of Trump’s fake elector scheme. He’s a member of the Republican Study Committee which is working to end Social Security and Medicare.

But, with John Fetterman winning Erie County 56,404 (53%) to 46,507 (44%), Kelly was reelected 59.4% to 40.6% by racking up huge wins in the 5 rural counties in the district, while narrowly losing Erie County to Democrat Dan Pastor, 56,423 (53%) to 49,263 (47%).

On Saturday evening, Trump will be bringing his circus to the Erie Insurance Arena. He still owes Erie $35,129 from the last rally he held there (2018) and this time, having learned a lesson and not eager to be burned twice, Mayor Joe Schember would like Trump to pay in advance. Trump’s huge team of lawyers includes several who have sued him for non-payment. Now forewarned, reputable attorneys willing to work for Trump are demanding to be paid millions of dollars in advance to work on his myriad cases. Chris Kise got a $3 million advance from the notorious tightwad. Trump just settled a longstanding lawsuit by Michael Cohen for $1.3 million two days before the trial was set to begin in New York state court.

Nearly all of the costs the city sought to recover following the Oct. 10, 2018, Make America Great Again rally— which also took place at Erie Insurance Arena, ahead of that year's midterm elections— were related to overtime pay for city workers assigned to cover the event, including police officers.

“I think we have to try, and I feel like my team feels the same way,” Schember said. “We’re going to see whether we can get some payment from them in advance this time. It’s important to do this because we’re talking about taxpayer money being used to help make his visit more safe.”

…Parking lots will open at 8 a.m. Doors will open at 1 p.m. and special guest speakers will begin delivering remarks at 4 p.m.

Schember said city officials, including police, are working on logistics/staffing for the event.

After Trump’s October 2018 rally, the city made a formal request for a $35,129 reimbursement from Trump's campaign committee. However, the city received nothing from the Trump campaign, despite the committee, at that time, reporting more than $35.4 million on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The committee paid $17,500 to rent Erie Insurance Arena for the October 2018 rally.

FEC filings show that currently, Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. has roughly $22.5 million on hand, and Schember said the city is aware of that.

“Trump has been able to bring in millions of dollars for his campaign,” Schember said. “He should be able to easily pay these costs to cities.”

Since 2016, when Trump was first elected, other cities across the country have incurred significant costs when hosting Trump rallies, most of them related to public safety and security, and while some cities have received repayments, dozens have not been reimbursed.

Among the other cities Trump stiffed during his 2020 campaign were Spokane (WA)— which he owes $65,124— Billings (MT), Mesa and Tucson (AZ), Albuquerque (NM)— which he owes $211,175— Sioux City (IA), Eau Claire and Green Bay (WI) , El Paso (TX)— which he owes $569,204— Warren and Battle Creek (MI)— which he owes $93,000— Burlington (VT), Minneapolis (MN)— which owes $542,733, Lebanon (OH) and Wildwood (NJ)— which he owes $30,000 for police overtime.

A few months ago, Jack Lahut reported that it is standard procedure for Trump to stiff all the contractors, something he’s done throughout his life. “For all the ‘back the blue’ merchandise one can buy at a Trump rally,” wrote Lahut, “finding an event where the cops actually working it had their overtime covered by the campaign is surprisingly difficult. But there’s a cost for Trump, too; the hefty bill that he tends to leave with local governments means the ex-president may have to search for even smaller, more obscure rally venues for his 2024 campaign.”

In Sioux City, Iowa, for example, the former president owed more than $11,000 in unpaid reimbursements to the city police and fire departments from a rally he held there on Nov. 3, 2022. While overtime pay to cops and firemen totaled more than $10,000 on the overall tab, Trump’s Save America PAC also rented several parking lots from the city. After pressure from city officials and the local paper, the Sioux City Journal, they eventually paid up.

In Warren, Michigan, however, a city official— who requested her name be withheld— told The Daily Beast the city has yet to see any repayment from Trump for the overtime pay that cops racked up from a MAGA rally held on Oct. 1, 2022, at the Macomb Sports and Expo Center, a 2,800-seat dual arena and convention center.

In Lorain County, Ohio, Trump was joined at the county fairgrounds by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) for a rally in June 2021. On Tuesday, local police told The Daily Beast they couldn’t find any reimbursements for any Trump rallies.

Of the 30 counties and municipalities The Daily Beast contacted to ask whether they’d been reimbursed for local cops and firemen supporting a Trump rally, just one—the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania—responded to confirm they got any money back.

…The evolution of MAGA events over the years is, in part, a story of the consequences of Trump’s pattern of leaving behind the tab. His 2016 insurgent bid was defined by the raucous crowds that gathered in packed arenas and stadiums across cities big and small, even as he reportedly began to burn bridges with law enforcement agencies over unpaid bills.

By the end of his presidential term in 2021, Trump still owed more than $2 million in overtime reimbursement and other expenses, according to an Insider and CTV News analysis.

The ex-president’s most recent venues have mostly been at fairgrounds and airports far from city centers. Officials have previously spoken to the connection between Trump’s indifference toward paying his bills and the quality of his rally venues.

…But as Trump’s 2024 bid gets off to a listless and low-energy start, there’s a deeper issue for the ex-president and his team if they hope to recreate the MAGA rally magic of his 2016 and 2020 runs.

The WWE-meets-megachurch manifestation of the former president’s political appeal isn’t dead yet, but the demand isn’t what it once was and may not come back for a while, one of his former top advisers told the Daily Beast.

“The reality is that if Donald Trump wanted to throw a huge rally, he might not get 20,000 people to show up,” Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump’s former White House communications director, said. “Closer to primary season, that’s very possible, but he’s the weakest he’s ever been.”