Questions are swirling around the source of a nearly-quarter million dollar speaking fee former First Lady Melania Trump received for appearing at a campaign event hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP group, in April.
The Trump campaign’s latest financial disclosure indicates Mrs. Trump was paid $237,500 for a “speaking engagement” at the event held at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club, but the source of the payment was not disclosed.
Related:
“It seems pretty self-serving,” Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, told CNN. “From my own general observation, I’m not used to seeing that.”
Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024
Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter.
“You could indicate that payment was for a speaking engagement for the Log Cabin Republicans, but you also need to report who the source of the payment was, otherwise you can’t assess for the conflicts of interest, and it wouldn’t be in compliance with the rules,” Cantor said. “It should have properly been reported so that the source of the income is listed for the honorarium.”
Defenders of the First Lady, who claim they were unaware she was paid for the appearance, say it’s up to her how and where she spends her time in support of her husband’s third presidential bid. One source described Melania Trump’s thinking as, “’My best and highest use is where I am,’” adding that “she’s a priceless, timeless asset” for her husband.
That explanation doesn’t address the source of the payment.
Campaign finance records indicate that in addition to the April appearance fee, Mrs. Trump was also paid $250,000 for a Log Cabin Republican event in December 2022.
Another event in December, for a group called Fix California, netted the former First Lady a comparable payment.
Fix California was founded by Ric Grennel, the gay, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and acting Director of National Intelligence in the final, chaotic year of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Attention has turned to Grennel for facilitating the California speaking deal as well as those for the Log Cabin Republicans, where he’s coordinated an “unprecedented” gay and lesbian voter outreach initiative.
Charles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, told CNN earlier in September that the group didn’t put up the money and didn’t elaborate on who did. Grenell, as well, had no explanation for the big payday after repeated requests for comment.
For her part, Melania Trump, who’s been mostly absent from her husband’s campaign, has sought to cash in when she does show up.
“She’s been so disconnected with this campaign and so absent that I could see her saying, ‘If I’m going to put my time in, I will get paid for this,’” said Stephanie Grisham, the former First Lady’s White House press secretary and author of I’ll Take Your Questions Now, a memoir of her time in the Trump administration.
“Even when we were in the White House, she was always so concerned about people making money off of her because she felt it was money she should be earning.”
Grisham recalled that Mrs. Trump instructed her staff to direct the White House gift shop to stop selling Melania Trump memorabilia, in particular a bobblehead modeled on her, without her express permission.
“She was outraged. She didn’t like they were making money off of her,” Grisham said.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nationnewsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
