Senior Republican operatives loyal to the White House are deeply unhappy with America First Action, believing Trump’s giant super PAC, so critical to his reelection, is failing on a number of fronts.
America First Action, permitted to raise money in unlimited amounts, is expected to play a crucial role in Trump’s 2020 reelection bid, supplementing the president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee as part of a broad defense against Democratic organizations that could spend more than $1 billion.
Nevertheless, officials concerned with the performance of the big-money group, who requested anonymity to preserve relationships with the president’s inner circle, are hopeful recently installed America First Action Chairwoman Linda McMahon can whip it into shape.
Complaints about the group run the gamut.
Some charge the group should be doing more to shield Trump from the aftershocks of the Russia investigation and the report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Others fault fundraising, saying the group is not paying close enough attention to moderately wealthy Republicans, whose donations collectively are worth millions. Then there are those who claim America First is strategically adrift.
“It’s the president’s super PAC; it should be the biggest player in American politics,” said one GOP insider in Washington. Added another: “It doesn’t feel like they’ve been on the field very effectively over the past six months.”
Enter McMahon, 70, a Trump ally and former Cabinet member.
The career executive was appointed chairwoman of America First Action in April after departing as chief of the Small Business Administration. Critics of the super PAC are optimistic McMahon can revive a group they dismiss as disorganized, ineffective, and poorly received by GOP mega-donors.
“Linda McMahon coming on board marked a reset for America First as they recalibrate to be Trump’s air support in 2020,” said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and energy industry executive based in Arizona.
Todd Ricketts, the Republican Party finance chairman, is another McMahon cheerleader. “Linda and I have been friends for a long time,” he said. “As President Trump steps into the 2020 ring, he is lucky to have Linda in his corner.”
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McMahon is the former CEO of WWE, a professional wrestling and entertainment conglomerate. She ran for Senate in Connecticut twice, losing, but in the process cultivated the image of someone who is intelligent, likable, and hard working. Republicans familiar with her predicted she would be a hit with GOP donors and position America First Action, and nonprofit affiliate America First Policies, to raise the $300 million the groups are budgeting for 2020.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, McMahon said she spends half her time overseeing America First day-to-day, working with executive director Brian O. Walsh to chart strategy and develop operations. The other half of her time is devoted to fundraising. On the job about seven weeks, McMahon is not taking a salary and said she has no plans to do so.
“I think we’re right on pace,” she insisted, when asked to assess America First and its unfolding strategy to help reelect Trump. As for Republican critics, anonymous and otherwise, McMahon urged them to “pick up the phone” and communicate their concerns and suggestions directly, especially “if they’re donors.”
Walsh was more pointed. “I’m deeply worried about whether these anonymous critics are up to the task as well because they are obviously spending more time talking to the press than helping the president,” he said. “I guess we’ll never know, so I’ll just go back to winning, like we did in 2018.”
America First Action and America First Policies raised more than $74 million in the 2018 cycle, spending most of that promoting Trump’s agenda and supporting Republicans in midterm election contests. There are federal limits on what nonprofit groups can spend on politics, so the super PAC finances most of those activities.
This year, the groups have run advertising touting the president’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border and defended two of his key Republican allies in the House of Representatives, Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina, from attacks by wealthy liberal activist Tom Steyer.
America First runs lean, with eight full-time employees, including Walsh, plus an additional operative on contract. McMahon said plans are in place to grow the payroll to accommodate America First’s 2020 strategy.
The blueprint calls for investing in polling, voter registration, and traditional and digital advertising. America First also is spending on digging up dirt on Democratic presidential candidates through donations to America Rising, the premier GOP opposition research group, and on developing its database through contributions to Data Trust, the keeper of the party’s voter file.
“They’ve got a great plan on where they’re going and I think they’re attacking it the right way,” veteran Republican strategist Guy Harrison said.
