Turning The Ballot Box Against Republicans

Former President Donald Trump has yet to formally announce another run for the presidency in 2024.

But since leaving Washington, DC, in January 2021, he's lined the coffers of his several post-president political action committees — Save America PAC, Make America Great Again PAC, and the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee among them — with tens of millions of dollars, sometimes sending prospective donors two or three email and text message fundraising solicitations each day.

To entice donors to his PACs, Trump regularly offers items that might appear to have prestige and value. In reality, they have no discernible value and are largely imaginary. These include "Trump cards" that have no use, memberships to groups that don't meet, and even the chance to be included on a "donor wall" that doesn't appear to exist.

Trump's team did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Here's a run-down of 16 made-up awards, prizes, and perks that Trump has offered to contributors during 2022:

I think we should brace ourselves for loosing congress. Nate calls it a toss up on senate, with slightly favoring republicans because republicans are more likely to vote.

Why I'm Telling My Friends That The Senate Is A Toss-Up

The U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania may be showing the worst side of politics as Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman battles Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the potentially crucial contest.

Pennsylvania's open Senate seat could be decisive in determining which party controls the chamber after this year's midterm elections, which are only weeks away.

The campaign has been marked by harsh rhetoric on both sides, with the Oz campaign questioning Fetterman's ability to serve following a stroke he suffered in May and the Fetterman campaign targeting Oz's longtime residence in New Jersey.

Fetterman branded Oz "sick" after a report that experiments the celebrity surgeon had supervised caused the death of more than 300 dogs as well as other animals, while the Republican has claimed the Democrat supports "releasing convicted murderers back on the streets."

Oz has denied being involved in the death of the dogs.

Political experts who spoke to Newsweek described the race as "juvenile" and an example of the "erosion of norms" in U.S. politics.

The rhetoric from the Fetterman and Oz campaigns has won national headlines as the race could be key to control of the Senate and the Fetterman campaign has made particularly effective use of social media, but the debate in Pennsylvania has been "dumbed down," according to Thomas Gift, founding director of University College London's Centre on U.S. Politics.

"You'd be hard pressed to find any midterm race in the country that's more juvenile than Pennsylvania's contest between John Fetterman and Dr. Oz—and that's saying something," Gift told Newsweek.

"For two men with Ivy League credentials, it's ironic that the matchup has become one of the most dumbed-down competitions for a major government seat this year," he said.

"Although the race could determine which party controls the Senate, the aspiration of high-minded policy debate and elevated political discourse has largely given way to schoolyard taunts and sophomoric bickering on Twitter," Gift added.

Gift went on to say that Fetterman has "seemingly revolved his entire campaign around constructing online memes attacking Oz for being from New Jersey. Meanwhile, Oz has spent much of the last several days trying to counter the narrative that he's a puppy murderer."

"Pennsylvania may be the center of the political universe. But the center of principled, intelligent political dialogue it certainly is not," he said.



The U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania may be showing the worst side of politics as Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman battles Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the potentially crucial contest.

Pennsylvania's open Senate seat could be decisive in determining which party controls the chamber after this year's midterm elections, which are only weeks away.

The campaign has been marked by harsh rhetoric on both sides, with the Oz campaign questioning Fetterman's ability to serve following a stroke he suffered in May and the Fetterman campaign targeting Oz's longtime residence in New Jersey.

Polls largely show Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman leading his GOP opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz by a substantial margin. Above to the left, Dr. Oz hosts a safer streets community discussion at Galdos Catering and Entertainment on October 13, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Above to the right, Fetterman reacts to applause from supporters during a joint rally with Democratic candidate for Governor Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro at Norris Park on October 15, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Fetterman branded Oz "sick" after a report that experiments the celebrity surgeon had supervised caused the death of more than 300 dogs as well as other animals, while the Republican has claimed the Democrat supports "releasing convicted murderers back on the streets."

Oz has denied being involved in the death of the dogs.

Political experts who spoke to Newsweek described the race as "juvenile" and an example of the "erosion of norms" in U.S. politics.

Schoolyard Taunts
NEWSWEEK SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS >
The rhetoric from the Fetterman and Oz campaigns has won national headlines as the race could be key to control of the Senate and the Fetterman campaign has made particularly effective use of social media, but the debate in Pennsylvania has been "dumbed down," according to Thomas Gift, founding director of University College London's Centre on U.S. Politics.

"You'd be hard pressed to find any midterm race in the country that's more juvenile than Pennsylvania's contest between John Fetterman and Dr. Oz—and that's saying something," Gift told Newsweek.

"For two men with Ivy League credentials, it's ironic that the matchup has become one of the most dumbed-down competitions for a major government seat this year," he said.

"Although the race could determine which party controls the Senate, the aspiration of high-minded policy debate and elevated political discourse has largely given way to schoolyard taunts and sophomoric bickering on Twitter," Gift added.

Gift went on to say that Fetterman has "seemingly revolved his entire campaign around constructing online memes attacking Oz for being from New Jersey. Meanwhile, Oz has spent much of the last several days trying to counter the narrative that he's a puppy murderer."

"Pennsylvania may be the center of the political universe. But the center of principled, intelligent political dialogue it certainly is not," he said.

Wilder Accusations
Paul Quirk, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, told Newsweek that the campaign rhetoric could be designed to keep the attention of "jaded" voters.

"American campaign discourse has been in decline for about 30 years," Quirk said. "The earlier stages saw deterioration of norms against clear falsehoods and scurrilous accusations."