Donald Trump wants to crush The Swamp. The leaks, the sneaks, and the secrets are all there. Our writers, David Gardner, Farrah Tomazin, Sarah Ewall-Wice, and Laura Esposito, are sifting through the ooze so you don’t have to. Don’t miss out.
In this week’s news from the ooze: Elizabeth Pipko, Roger Federer, Barbie, Calley Means, Justin Caporale, Clifton Fred Lees, Chris LaCivita, Bettina Anderson Trump, Pam Bondi, Bobby Charles, Danielle Madda, Janet Mills, and Holistic Hilda.
How This MAGA Goon Squad Turned State Fair into Disaster
Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair is a bust for the ages. An event supposed to showcase these United States on the National Mall for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence should have been crowded, joyful and most of all, united. Instead the tiny number of people who showed up were treated to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy using offensive slurs to insult the musical acts who canceled, Uncle Sam allegedly committing sex acts, a Confederate flag finding its way into the North Carolina booth; organizers spelling “freedom” wrong; and ice cream melting.
The Great American State Fair is the sole creation of Freedom 250, the group which was handed sole charge of celebrating the semiquincentennial after Donald Trump’s return to power. So who are they? And why aren’t the organizers’ names plastered all over the Freedom 250 website?
Leading the charge is Keith Krach, a former Trump administration Under Secretary of State who now serves as CEO of Freedom 250. Krach’s net worth is estimated at around $441 million, largely tied to his past holdings in tech firms including DocuSign, which he used to run. Krach has no known experience organizing mass events (if we’re calling the State Fair one…) but he had help. Also involved is former aide to Melania Trump, Justin Caporale, whose firm, Event Strategies, is a Trump go-to for staging major political spectacles, including the rally on the Ellipse that took place on January 6, 2021, right before MAGA’s mob stormed the Capitol.
The fundraising operation (it might look cheap, but this fair sure ain’t free) is run by Meredith O’Rourke, one of Trump’s most prolific fundraisers and a veteran of multiple Trump campaigns. And she is not the only veteran, because right in the heart of the Great American Flop is 2024 campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita. He and O’Rourke were put on the board of the National Parks Foundation, which ultimately oversees Freedom 250. That lets him play a major role in directing money and corporate sponsorships. (LaCivita is probably better at spending than fundraising: he famously demanded “triple damages” from the Daily Beast and got… nothing.)
If you want to ask any questions about how one event could be so bad, you might turn to the communications team, which has more members than the average crowd at the main stage. Elizabeth Pipko has served as a Trump campaign spokeswoman and Republican National Committee adviser (and been whispered about as a Karoline Leavitt replacement.) Danielle Alvarez was a senior communications adviser on Trump’s 2024 campaign, while Rachel Reisner has held communications roles across Trump’s political operation. Behind the scenes, Rachel Gerli oversees partnerships, Danielle Madda serves as chief of staff, Allison Rant handles strategic partnerships, and Caleb Bonham, a longtime conservative media personality, advises Krach.
Some of those involved have jobs which frankly, you should win a fairground prize for understanding. David Bohigian, former acting leader of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is “Chair of the Global Network Council of Freedom 250, which brings global institutions together to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence.” (Ironically, there are barely any chairs at the fair.)
Still, the true spirit of 1776 made a brief appearance at the fair. When the Mt. Olive Pickle company learned that a Confederate flag was part of the North Carolina exhibit, the company pulled out. “Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom,” the company stated. The first revolution started with tea. Maybe the second will start with pickles?
MAGA Star’s Wife and Questions Over Money Laundering
The wife of Florida’s Republican frontrunner for governor is facing questions over an offshore company in Panama. Officials from the federal government of the notorious tax haven are probing a company tied to Erika Donalds, the wife of Trump-endorsed three-term Congressman Byron Donalds, according to documents obtained by The Swamp. The documents show that Panamanian authorities are investigating the company, Fundacion Eco Agro Turismo, for potential money laundering. Asked by The Swamp, a spokesperson for Erika Donalds, tells us, “This is reprehensible fake news. Erika Donalds has not—and never has—owned or been involved with any financial accounts anywhere outside of the United States. She has also never been to Panama and has zero business interests there.
All of her business entities go through annual independent audits. This is just a desperate, false attack on a successful businesswoman.” Just having offshore ties raises eyebrows for the would-be first lady of Florida. Her father, Clifton Fred Lees, was among nine others indicted in 2006 for insurance fraud that cost investors some $71 million, according to reports at the time. And, just this year, Donalds landed in hot water herself. After enrolling hundreds of students and hiring teachers for what would be the fifth charter school she founded, the Fort Myers school failed to open. At first, she cited financial issues. But additional digging revealed those schools spent roughly 30 percent of their federal funding—about $35 million—on two outside firms in which Donalds held stakes valued between $1 million and $5 million each. The Swamp has reached out to a spokesperson for Rep. Donalds for comment on whether the MAGA couple is aware of the inquiry taking place far south of the border.
A potential money laundering probe isn’t what any candidate needs, but the Donalds have been through rocky times before. On Valentine’s Day, for instance, she shared what was intended to be a sweet story about how she and her now-husband, Byron, met in the fall of 1999. Their first romantic outing, she added, took place on Valentine’s Day 2000. It didn’t take a Panamanian investigation for the public to realize he had still been married to someone else just three months prior to their first meeting. The congressman divorced Bisa Hall in 2002 and married Erika Lees—now Erika Donalds—on March 15, 2003.
Sippin’ the Swamp
Trump’s most recent botched renovation has got itself a cocktail. N.E. D.C.’s Metrobar has mixed together tequila, triple sec, lime and simple syrup with a slash of blue curacao called, obviously, The Reflecting Pool. And at just $15, it’s both less poisonous and more refreshing than the real one.
Even the Fare’s a Flop at the Fair
Back at the State Fair, The Swamp regrets to report that the food really isn’t going to make America healthy again, despite “MAHA Monday” when RFK Jr. ally Calley Means, influencer “Holistic Hilda,” Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin—who is Steak ‘n Shake’s self-described “chief MAHA officer”—offered advice on eating clean. And it’s not going to advance anyone’s affordability agenda either. A lemonade set The Swamp back $10 while a not-so-MAHA chicken sandwich with chips cost another $17. A Western sausage sandwich was priced at $20, nachos are another $10, stuffed pretzel rolls top out at $25, and hibachi rice bowls go for $16. We’d rather have another cocktail.
The (Subtle) Resistance
The Great American Flop’s organizers cannot catch a break. First a covert “8647” message was scrawled onto a replica of the Cadillac Ranch sculpture inside the fair’s Texas state pavilion. Former FBI director James Comey was prosecuted earlier this year for posting a photograph of seashells spelling out the numbers, which Trump allies interpret as a coded threat to kill the president. (He denies the charges, which were brought by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s department as soon as Pam Bondi was fired.) But now the phrase has also been popping up on lamp posts across Washington for weeks, in posters that use Freedom 250’s fonts and colors. The resistance is clearly getting wittier. In Dupont Circle, The Swamp spotted another slice of anti-MAGA art: a front-yard Barbie-themed reflecting pool, complete with peeling blue paint, dead ducks, hydrogen peroxide—and a Trump-like doll triumphantly holding a sign reading, “I did this.”
At Camp David, It’s Zurich First
Bettina Anderson Trump is flaunting her recent membership in Mar-a-Lago’s Inner Circle by posting intimate shots of the First Family’s recent weekend at Camp David. Activities included shooting guns and posing for the camera. The newest wife of Don Jr., Anderson Trump has used her Instagram account to promote fashion and jewelry in the past. At first glance, it appeared that she was once more slipping in some product placement with On brand sneakers featured prominently in two photos. The former model, her husband, and new sister-in-law Tiffany Trump were all seen rocking the Cloudtilt model (retails for $170).
The Swamp reached out to see if this was promotional, but On’s lead communications director Rob Entsminger responded, “No, we do not have sponsorships or partnerships with any politicians, including the ones pictured.” Based in Zurich, Switzerland, On is the fastest growing athletic shoe company boosted by brand ambassadors Roger Federer and Zendaya. Still, it’s strange that the “America First” crowd chose a European trainer over homegrown brands like New Balance (headquartered in Boston, MA), Nike (headquartered in Beaverton, OR), and Brooks (headquartered in Seattle, WA.) Former President Joe Biden was more sneaker loyal. He wore Hokas (headquartered in California).
Maine GOP Hopeful Revives Litter Box Hoax
Don’t imagine that the race for Maine’s Senate seat is Vacationland’s only—or even its weirdest—contest. In fact, it could be that the Susan Collins-Graham Platner match-up is an oasis of normality, because The Swamp has unearthed a video of the Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles which is truly bizarre.
It features Charles, a former Trump administration official, repeating the long-debunked claim that schools are providing litter boxes to students who identify as animals. “What do you do, by the way, when they get to be 20 and you have to break it to them: ‘Actually, you’re not a cat, and you will have to go to work, and we’re going to not do this kitty little crap anymore?” he says. Republicans hope to reclaim Maine from term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Perhaps he’s planning a litter box in the governor’s mansion?
