Trump Revealed: on Government Reform


1980s: donated 30 times over campaign contribution limit

Trump's largesse [in political donations] caught the attention of a New York State commission examining possible political corruption. The commission called Trump to testify in March 1988. Under oath, Trump acknowledged that political donations had been a routine part of his business for nearly two decades. He gave so generously that he sometimes lost track of the amounts. When an attorney for the commission asked him to verify that he had given $150,000 to local candidates in 1985 alone, Trump responded, "I really don't know. I assume that is correct, yes."

The amount Trump donated in 1985 was equal to three times the annual limit for individual ($50,000), or thirty times higher than the cap for companies ($5,000), under New York state law. But Trump "circumvented" the law, a state commission found, by spreading the donations among eighteen subsidiary companies. Trump told the commissioners he didn't know "the exact reason" it was done this way; it was how his lawyers had said to do it.

Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p.273-4 Aug 23, 2016

  • The above quotations are from Trump Revealed
    An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power
    by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher    .
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Government Reform.
2016 Presidential contenders on Government Reform:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Mar 19, 2019