After a series of unfavorable court rulings earlier this year, Donald J Trump has been left with less of two valuable commodities: time and money. Both of these he hopes to recover in the next fundraiser to take place in the affluent suburban town of Newtown, Pennsylvania, about 35 minutes northeast of Philadelphia.
Legal Issues: Newest To Oldest
As most unpartisan observers can tell, for one reason or another, the former and 45th president of the United States, is accustomed to legal issues pertaining to business, social affairs and sometimes civil and criminal affairs linked to either voter fraud allegations, unconstitutional behavior or actions pertaining to the mutinous nature of his comments during the January 6th riots in Washington D.C.
Nevertheless, as the Republican candidate for the presidency, Trump has managed to leverage his massive amount of political and economic clout into new business ventures, like his recently publicly listed social media company ‘Truth Social‘. Unfortunately, for Trump, the venture’s public listing, which for a period of time looked promising and as a potentially new source of revenue, has unraveled amid a series of legal accusations around fiduciary issues. Subsequently, less than a week after the Initial Public Offering (IPO), the stock price’s healthy began to descend over 20 percent, then eventually 36 percent..
According to Bloomberg, “the stock dropped 21% Monday after Trump Media disclosed in a securities filing a $58 million loss and a relative trickle of revenue for 2023, and reiterated a warning that it needed the money from the SPAC deal to keep operating” which only fueled the fire for disputes. In a recent lawsuit filed by Trump, he alleges that the two architects, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, were unable to administer the company incorrectly and should therefore forfeit their 680-million-dollar stock-based payout.
Again, without malice, we observe a common pattern for Trump in his financial and business disputes. He simply wants to pay less, and, perhaps, keep as many of the diminishingly valued shares for himself given his current needs.
Fraud Case Against Trump In New York
While there are many lawsuits against Trump, one for paying hush money to a pornographic film star, another for permitting and encouraging the January 6th riots, and still another for Georgia state election interference.
However, the most pressing need for Trump financially has been the New York state criminal suit ruling for inflating his wealth to receive better financing terms from banks. This guilty verdict for the NY fraud charge for which Trump resulted in a 355 million dollar judgment against the former president.
While Trump is appealing the ruling, he has been legally obligated to pay an over 100 million dollar fine all in the midst of an intense campaign for the presidency. This combination of troubling business and legal affairs appears to actually require him to campaign in order to fundraise for his ventures. With that context, we can understand why his visit to Newtown, Pennsylvania is so important.
Newtown, Pennsylvania – Affluent Suburb In Swing State
In this context, Trump has to run for president because the effort gives him a level of influence and relevance, along with political power, to evade the worse, if not all, the legal consequences he would face otherwise.
Enter the Newtown Athletic Club, a fairly posh facility whose proprietor charges around 300 dollars per couple or 180 for individual membership. The picture below is a clever product placement from the local auto dealer network, Fred Beans, which traffics in Hyundais, Fords and other brands of vehicles that appeal to the family friendly area of Southeastern Pennsylvania. For some folks, Trump’s brand is toxic, but in these parts of the suburbs, some people just love associating with the ‘Donald’.
With all these legal fees, civil and criminal, Trump is motivated, as is his political base, to finance his return to the White House. According to the Washington Post, Trump has about half the money raised for the month of March compared to current president, Joseph R Biden, who generated over 180 million dollars. So, the pressure is on for Trump to both fundraise to save his own skin and save his campaign, which seems fragmented operationally due to Trump’s legal dealings.
Newtown is a fairly wealth, small and homogenous suburb in the suburbs orbiting the powerhouse of Philadelphia, with about 2000 to 3000 people, a median household income of $145,893 and is 95 percent white so you see a lot of these kind of trucks:
In conclusion, it seems like Trump has picked the right county (Bucks County) to squeeze out a few million which he can surely generate from the Newtown Athletic Club, in Newtown, PA. In Atlanta, Georgia, for example, Trump could corral 250,000 dollars per couple for one set of social status within the local Republican party, while another lower tier was available for 100,000 dollars. Finally, a picture costs alongside the 45th president costs 25,000 dollars.
While there has been limited confirmation to where the event will be held mostly to ensure only Republicans attend and to avoid protests (security being provided by the Secret Service can’t possibly be a concern in such a quaint area), it’s almost certain the venue is the NAC, as members have already been told to scoot for Saturday.