WASHINGTON — Donald Trump wants to introduce a trend that has taken off in college sports: paying for the use of his name, likeness and image in campaign advertisements.
In a letter sent this week, Trump’s presidential campaign requested that all GOP candidates running down the ballot receive at least 5% of any money raised by advertising featuring the presumptive nominee for the White House in 2024.
The letter, dated April 15, signed by Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, and co-campaign managers, asked that candidates and committees using President Trump’s image and likeness, split at least 5% of their fundraising efforts with the Trump National Committee JFC.
The new rules, according to campaign aides, are intended to protect donors who mistakenly believe that they are giving money to Trump’s election but in fact are giving it to another candidate using his name or image.
A second concern is that some candidates are using Trump’s image to suggest their endorsement by the former president, when in fact they don’t.
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Danielle Alvarez, Trump’s spokeswoman, said that it was important to protect smaller donors from fraudsters who use the president’s name and likeness.
A Supreme Court ruling in 2021 allows college athletes to benefit from the use of their images, names and likenesses through so-called NIL agreements.
Trump’s campaign letter stated that a higher percentage of fundraising was welcome and that he and the Republican National Committee would be monitoring who did and didn’t comply.
The letter stated that “any split higher than 5% is viewed favorably by both the RNC, and the President Trump campaign. This is reported regularly to the highest levels within each organization.”
Trump campaign officials expressed concerns about fundraising. This was one of the main reasons why the presumptive nominee for president installed new leadership in the RNC including his daughter-in law Lara Trump.
The letter recommended “messaging guides” for how to use Trump’s name, likeness and image.
The letter asked that candidates refrain from speaking “on behalf of” Trump and avoid mentioning members of his family without their consent or consent of the campaign. The letter warned candidates against “impersonating either President Trump or the campaign.”
The warnings are also included.
The letter stated that “Any vendor who has clients who ignore the above guidelines will be held accountable for the actions of their clients.” “Repeated violations may result in the termination of the business relationship between the vendor, Trump National Committee JFC and the vendor.”
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