After a massive ruling in New York imposing hundreds of millions of dollars in financial penalties following a fraud case against Donald Trump from New York state Attorney General Letitia James, evident Trump supporter Elena Cardone is running a fundraiser on GoFundMe asking for donations totaling $355 million under the idea of covering Trump’s extensive penalties.
Cardone’s fundraiser actually had more than $46,000 in pledges early Saturday — still far below the stated goal for the endeavor.
The description for the effort provided on the crowdfunding platform casts the idea as a chance to stand up for bedrock American principles. “It’s about making a stand. It’s about showing that when one of us is targeted for championing the values that make America great, he does not stand alone,” the page asserts. “We stand with him, shoulder to shoulder, ready to support, defend, and fight back against a system that threatens to undermine the very foundations of our republic.”
Grant Cardone — Elena’s husband, a businessman — spoke in dramatic terms about supposed implications of the ruling against Trump in pushing Friday on X (formerly called Twitter) for support for his wife’s ambition. “Keep in mind the banks he borrowed from were paid back & even defended his claims. If this ruling stands everything you own is at risk,” he claimed, seemingly trying to rehash the notion batted around among right-wingers that courtroom proceedings against Trump are some kind of warning that the same could happen to everyday Americans. The problem is that most Americans aren’t perpetrating the acts alleged of Trump, who has had access to the procedural protections available broadly to individuals drawn in by the justice system.
This whole thing isn’t the first dramatically ambitious right-wing attempt at crowdfunding. A ploy to use crowdfunding for a wall along the southern border during Trump’s presidency resulted in a series of criminal charges including an active case against Trump ally Steve Bannon over allegations that donated funds went instead to personal expenses of those running it.
