POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Trump sends legal notice to GOP to stop using his name
By RACHAEL BADE and TARA PALMERI
03/06/2021 10:28 AM EST


SCOOP: TRUMPS SENDS CEASE-AND-DESIST TO RNC, NRCC AND NRSC. Lawyers for former President DONALD TRUMP sent out cease-and-desist letters Friday to the three largest fundraising entities for the Republican Party — the RNC, NRCC and NRSC — for using his name and likeness on fundraising emails and merchandise, a Trump adviser tells Playbook.
We reported yesterday that Trump was furious that his name has been bandied about by organizations that help Republicans who voted to impeach him — without his permission. Trump, who made his fortune in licensing, has always been sensitive to how his name has been used to fundraise and support members, even while in office.
On Friday, the RNC sent out two emails asking supporters to donate as a way to add their name to a “thank you” card for Trump. “President Trump will ALWAYS stand up for the American People, and I just thought of the perfect way for you to show that you support him!” the email states. “As one of President Trump’s MOST LOYAL supporters, I think that YOU, deserve the great honor of adding your name to the Official Trump ‘Thank You’ Card.” A follow-up email was sent hours later to “President Trump’s TOP supporters” warning of a deadline of 10 hours to get their names on the card.
None of the committees returned a request for comment. But privately GOP campaign types say it’s impossible not to use Trump’s name, as his policies are so popular with the base. If Trump really wants to help flip Congress, they argue he should be more generous. His team, however, sees this differently.
“President Trump remains committed to the Republican Party and electing America First conservatives, but that doesn’t give anyone – friend or foe – permission to use his likeness without explicit approval,” said a Trump adviser.
SPEAKING OF THE NRCC … Playbook also obtained the House campaign committee’s most recent batch of internal polling in their bid to flip the chamber. Now, take this with a grain of salt of course. It’s done by their own pollsters with an obvious political bend, and it’s incredibly early. But Republicans in the memo say they’re in “good shape” to take the majority, particularly looking at 16 districts that backed different parties for president and Congress (either Biden and a GOP member or Trump and a Democratic member).
POLITICO – By RACHAEL BADE and TARA PALMERI • 1d
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: TARA PALMERI – RACHAEL BADE
Tara Palmeri was the host and chief investigative reporter of two acclaimed Sony Music podcasts — “Broken: Seeking Justice” and “Power: The Maxwells.” She was also a White House Correspondent for ABC News. In 2016, she moved to Washington, D.C., to cover the Trump administration for POLITICO. She was also a CNN Political Analyst. Before that, she was a part of the team that launched POLITICO Europe in Brussels, where she covered European politics and wrote the weekly Playbook Plus column with Ryan Heath. She was also a CNBC contributor.
Tara’s work has taken her all over the world from North Korea to Afghanistan to a little strip of land on the Danube River called “Liberland.” She was even the inspiration for the tenacious reporter character in the roman a clef “Les Compromis” about mischief in halls of the European Parliament a la “House of Cards.”
Tara also reported for the New York Post’s “Page Six” and covered New York City Hall. She started her career as a news assistant for CNN and then went on to write the Washington Examiner’s “Yeas & Nays” column. She graduated summa cum laude from American University in 2008.
Rachael Bade is a 10-year veteran of the congressional press corps, where her stories illuminated the power struggles and personal dynamics animating the major policy clashes of Capitol Hill. She spent the past two years covering House Democrats’ oversight of the Trump Administration for The Washington Post, where she routinely broke news on the party’s attempts to hold the president accountable as well as the historic impeachment effort.
She is currently writing a book, “A Perfect Phone Call,” for HarperCollins’ William Morrow publishing house about how and why the move to oust Trump failed. Before joining the Post in early 2019, Rachael covered Congress for POLITICO, where she spent six years of her journalism career. From her vantage point on the Hill, she chronicled President Trump’s remaking of the GOP, churning out stories with behind-the-scenes details about the struggle between pro-Trump lawmakers and those fearful of the new direction of the party.
Rachael is a political analyst for CNN and has also appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” ABC’s “This Week” and Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday.” A small-town, Ohio-native, she graduated from the University of Dayton with degrees in political science and communication and is a former classical ballet dancer.