If it feels like President Donald Trump has already spent some of his time in office focusing on being re-elected in 2020, it is because he has been. His re-election campaign filed paperwork that allowed him to start raising and spending money the day that Trump was inaugurated. For comparison, Presidents Obama and Bush did not file for re-election until they had been in office for over two years.
Why is Trump doing this?
Since Donald Trump is using campaign money for these rallies and ads, he is free to rally supporters, pressure Congress and openly attack his political enemies without worry.
This is because Trump's unusual move to start fundraising right away allows him to use federal election laws without running into any of the rules for taxpayer money for political reasons.
In his first four months as President, he has already held four large rallies, which is extremely unusual for a sitting President to do. These events are the perfect example for how Trump is using all of this to his advantage. If Trump were holding a taxpayer-funded rally, it might be harder for him to toss out protesters as President. However, at a campaign funded rally, Trump has the legal freedom to kick out protesters and make his audience friendly. These events also allow him to rally his base and attack enemies without needing to worry about rules for using taxpayer money.
These rallies also allow Trump's campaign to grow his database of supporters. This gives his campaign more people to ask for donations and mobilize for policy battles. On top of this, he also has a brand new $1.5 million television ad campaign that boasts of his accomplishments and of course attacks the media.
Breaking the Presidential mold, again
Donald Trump is raising money at record pace for a President at this point in office. Donald J. Trump for President Inc. has already raised $7.1 million in the first three months of the year. In contrast, Obama raised $1.15 million in the first quarter of his presidency. Trump, the RNC and their joint fundraising committees have already raised more than $53 million in the first quarter of this year.
Normally, presidents have used federal money to promote their policies and avoid blatant political activity, like rallies, until later in their terms. Obviously, Trump has shunned this rule completely. In a way it is like he is running a never-ending campaign operation, which is another break from long-held political norms. In a way Trump never had a non-partisan period as President, he just jumped straight into campaign mode.
