Last night on the Rachel Maddow Show, some startling revelations about Donald Trump’s “fundraiser” for veterans were brought to light. It would appear that Tuesday stump speech on the decommissioned USS Iowa was for a fake veterans lobbying group and associated Super PAC, both called “Veterans For A Strong America,” is all for the benefit of one man- a Trump supporter and war veteran named Joel Arends from South Dakota. His group had their non-profit status revoked by the IRS in August, opening the door to further investigation into possible campaign finance violations.
“The whole thing is fake. The whole thing is made for TV. Except for the fact that presumably he [Arends] did raise money for this guy [Trump] tonight. And this guy really is the front-runner for the Republican nomination by a mile. And so far Republican voters do not seem to care that it is all made up.”
Maddow reported that according to the FEC, the Veterans For A Strong America group has $30 in the bank and had 850 people at a $1,000 a ticket fundraiser. Trump was caught raising money for a group that barely exists, money for which will probably be donated right back to Trump’s campaign. It is an absolute travesty that such a shady group, run by a veteran, is exploiting the struggles of veterans to support Trump’s offensive campaign.
Watch it here: