Guess Who’s Behind The Hunting Charity Event Selling Access To Trump, Sons

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, center, speaks as his son's Donald Trump, Jr., left and Eric look on during a caucus night rally Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are behind a newly-founded non-profit that is hosting a charity event over inauguration weekend offering top-tier donors access to the President-elect and themselves, the Center for Public Integrity reported Monday.

An invitation for the Opening Day Foundation’s “Opening Day 2017” event, first reported by TMZ, offered donors who spend $250,000 or more a “private reception and photo opportunity with President Donald J. Trump,” as well as other prizes. Those who fork over $500,000 or more would also receive a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion” with Trump’s adult sons, according to the invitation.

The Center for Public Integrity’s review of Texas incorporation records found that the Opening Day Foundation was created just one week ago, on Dec. 14. The foundation lists four directors: Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Dallas investor Gentry Beach, and Tom Hicks Jr., the son of a Dallas billionaire.

Walter Kinzie, chief executive officer of Encore Live, a Texas event management company, confirmed to TPM that the Opening Day Foundation hired his firm to manage the event.

“This celebration, independent from official inaugural events sponsored by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, is in support of conservation organizations all over our beautiful country,” he wrote in an email. “All net proceeds from this private event will be donated to support conservation efforts.”

The draft invitation for the event obtained by TMZ did not name the conservation charities, and it’s not clear how the net proceeds would be calculated.

Leslie Coppler, a spokeswoman for the McIntosh Company, another organizer for the event, declined to confirm the reported hunting trip offers to TPM, saying that more details would be released this week. Kinzie also told CPI that the participation of Trump family members hadn’t been confirmed yet, either.

The event is further shrouded from public scrutiny because nonprofits like the Opening Day Foundation are not required by law to reveal their donors.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for sooner sooner says:

  2. Trump’s are going to loot this country like an Atlantic City casino and leave us with a pile of used faucets and some tacky carpeting.

  3. At some point soon, “access” will be meaningless because A) Oligarchs all have the same needs and one will speak for all and B) it’s about to become so popular it will be diluted, weak, and pointless.

    Oh, and you know who won’t have access? Angry white workingclass midwesterners who really stuck it to Hillary. You really never saw this coming? Really? Good luck to you.

  4. My goodness, what a huge surprise! And what, pray tell, does this foundation do? And what “charities” does it support?

    Kinzie also … added that the participation of Trump family members is not confirmed.

    So he is selling an item that he doesn’t actually have? Another huge surprise. What is it with these idiots? Can they not give it a rest for even a week before starting the next grifting scheme?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

68 more replies

Participants

Avatar for doremus_jessup Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for pickwick Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for haggises Avatar for DuckmanGR Avatar for mantan Avatar for dont Avatar for sniffit Avatar for yskov Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for 2strange Avatar for dnl Avatar for darrtown Avatar for wagonmound Avatar for brd813 Avatar for misterneutron Avatar for pmaroneyb Avatar for rickjones Avatar for canyoncountry Avatar for namianth Avatar for coprophagoussmile Avatar for aiddon

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: