Donald Trump says he’s a presidential candidate, but the Federal Election Commission’s records say something different.
Trump has yet to file a Statement of Candidacy with the FEC, and might never do so. An FEC spokesperson told the Washington Examiner they have yet to receive anything from Trump or his campaign. As a result, if the first GOP presidential debate hosted by Fox News were held today, Trump’s “candidacy” does not appear to satisfy its rules.
Despite meeting other requirements detailed by Fox News — he meets Fox News’ polling threshold, according to RealClearPolitics average of national polls— Trump would be relegated to the sidelines. He also fails to meet the requirements for Fox News’ separate candidate forum for contenders who do not crack the formal debate. In other words, Trump would have to watch his competitors just like any other voter.
But Trump still has time to file with the FEC. An individual must file a Statement of Candidacy within 15 days of becoming a presidential candidate, which the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 says happens when an individual “has received contributions aggregating excess of $5,000 or made expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000” or “has given consent to another person to receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of him or herself and that person has received contributions aggregating excess of $5,000 or made expenditures aggregating in excess of $5,000.”
Trump may delay his need to file with the FEC by funding the entirety of his campaign. A spokesperson for his campaign would not say whether he or the campaign has collected any donations thus far, but it appears unlikely that Trump’s campaign would turn down donations. In a statement, the spokesperson insisted Trump and his campaign “will meet all FEC-imposed deadlines in accordance with being a candidate for the office of President of the United States.”
Since the filing deadline for the Statement of Candidacy is not an entirely “FEC-imposed deadline” — Trump’s actions partially determine the deadline — he could considerably postpone it.
“I’m not using donors, I don’t care, I’m really rich,” Trump said when announcing his campaign on Tuesday. “After I’m called by 30 friends of mine who contributed to different campaigns, after I’m called by all of the special interests and by the donors and by the lobbyists — and they have zero chance at convincing me, zero — I’ll get a call the next day from the head of Ford. He’ll say, ‘Please reconsider.’ I’ll say, ‘No.’ ”
Only two major GOP presidential candidates appear to have waited longer than Trump to file a Statement of Candidacy — former New York Gov. George Pataki waited five days after his announcement to file with the FEC, while former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has yet to do so.
If Trump and Perry do not qualify for the first debate televised by cable news, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, according to Real Clear Politics average of polls, appear poised to replace them.
Trump seems unconcerned at the prospect that he might not make the debate stage, and appears more perturbed by what his critics say about him. Trump is known for belittling conservative commentators on Twitter, and has targeted National Review’s Jonah Goldberg, the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes, and syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer in the past.
The latest cause of consternation for Trump appears to be David McIntosh, the president of Club for Growth, which is an influential conservative advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Trump’s campaign issued a press release indicating Trump thought McIntosh’s criticism of his presidential campaign was tied to The Donald’s failure to donate to the Club for Growth.
“I am appalled by Mr. McIntosh’s shameless pandering,” Trump said in a statement.
UPDATE : Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, told the Washington Examiner that the campaign has accepted donations, and that the amount already exceeds the $5,000 threshold. Lewandowski said the campaign would file a statement of candidacy later this month. The Trump team is preparing to file a personal financial disclosure (PFD) with the FEC soon as well, he said, but Trump’s large fortune means the PFD will take longer to produce than for other candidates.
