This economic critique fits into a sophisticated attack on the present state of presidential campaign finance. It is not a call for reform. It is a boast of his own unbuyability in a world where all politicians can be bought. A Washington Post article about the consternation of top Republicans took the boast at face value: “Donors feel powerless. Republican officials have little leverage. Candidates are skittish. Super-PAC operatives say attack ads against him could backfire.” Most voters will read of such big-donor consternation and think: What’s not to like? On the trail, Trump has of late been telling the story of a lobbyist who came to him offering the campaign $5 million, only to be sent away. Otherwise, Trump says, “he’ll be coming in two years, representing some foreign government.” Trump alleges that Jeb Bush has secretly raised either $114 million or $135 million this way. Whether this lobbyist is an actual person or a composite, the story is plausible, and Trump uses it for a beautiful piece of oratorical pedagogy. He talks about how even the noblest politicians with the best intentions will give in to lobbyists once they get behind closed doors:
I turned down so much money I feel like a stupid person . . . five million dollars. I could have it right now, and I turned him down. In fact, how about—I’ll just take a vote—how about if I take all this money and promise you, swear to you, that I won’t do anything for these people. What about that? No?
“Nooooo!” the crowd bellows.
This kind of campaign-finance talk could broaden Trump’s appeal far beyond the Republican party. This week, a Quinnipiac poll found his support strongest among liberal and moderate Republicans. Progressive campaign-finance activist Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School told Politico he would consider running with Trump on a third-party ticket.
In an interview with me for the ELB Podcast, Lessig says he would not consider a run with Trump.