Millionaire Scientologists crowdfund for Trump legal fees

Evangelical voters flocked to Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Now the former president is getting support from a slightly different religious group — or rather, cult.

Millionaire Scientologists Grant and Elena Cardone launched a GoFundMe page on Friday to raise the $355 million that Trump has been ordered to pay following his New York civil fraud trial. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $63,517 from over 1,500 donors. Cockburn wonders whether Tom Cruise or John Travolta are among them. 

“This is more than a legal fund; it’s a call to all patriots to rally in defense of a man who has never hesitated to stand in defense of us,” Elena wrote on the GoFundMe page. “It’s about making a stand. It’s about showing that when one of us is targeted for championing the values that make America great, he does not stand alone.”

The couple are the perfect pair to fundraise for the former president. The couple are major donors to the Church of Scientology and close friends of David Miscavige, its current leader. Cardone has also been shaking down people for years through his investment group and his business seminars, tickets to which sell for between $5,000 and $15,000. Cardone has also faced multiple class-actions lawsuits in the past few years, claiming that he misled investors on social media with overblown promises of high returns — although they have all since been dismissed. Perhaps Cardone could have offered Trump some tips on how to staff his legal team?

Cardone’s latest business venture is 10X Health Systems, a wellness brand that sells genetic tests, supplements and a series of biohacking machines that promises to give “healing power back to the human body using magnetism, oxygen and light.” The system costs $132,936. 

Needless to say, Cardone is bringing his years of experience to Team Trump. “If everyone who voted for Donald J Trump donated $5, he could fund the entire judgment and send a message to all corrupt judges around the country that the American stand together, when it comes to this kind of injustice,” Cardone posted on X. 

Some have donated $5 to the campaign just to post offensive messages, an odd way to stick it to Trump. “Donald Trump is a fascist traitor. Donated to say that,” one person said. Another added, “I just wanted to say high to all you gullible idiots.” 

Trump himself is also potentially exploring ways to address his financial woes. On Monday, he backed his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to serve as the Republican National Committee’s co-chair, a move which could see her dedicate even more money towards his legal bills and even less towards down-ballot Republicans. “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC — that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country,” Lara said earlier this week. The RNC spent around $2 million on Trump legal fees in 2021 and 2022 — though Trump senior advisor Chris LaCivita said a repeat was unlikely and fears of one were “manufactured.”

“President Trump made perfectly clear that the number one priority of the RNC was to stop cheating. And that will be reflected in the budget and that will be reflected in personnel and that will be reflected in activity,” he said. Oh well that’s alright then!