“A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at former President Donald Trump’s properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend,” Huffington Post reported on Saturday, March 13, 2021 (read story here).
“According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence,” Huffington Post said. “All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket.”
IRS records reveal the group has spent up to $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s golf course since 2014. Lara Trump began chairs charity events for the group, and its president, a woman named Lauree Simmons (photo left, with dogs), visited the White House when Trump was president.
There’s no evidence Trump likes dogs. He’s the only president of the last 100 years who didn’t have a dog in the White House (read that here), although President Biden had to send his two dogs back to Delaware after they bit people (maybe Trump’s scent is still hanging around).
A spokesperson for Simmons defended using Trump properties for fundraising, denied politics was involved, and declared, “The sole objective of our fundraisers is to raise as much money as possible” for dog rescue. Simmons, in a statement, claimed the Trump events have raised $12 million for her dog shelter. That means about $157 of every $1,000 donation goes into Donald Trump’s personal bank account.
“Simmons, however, was among those propagating Trump’s lies on social media, posting messages to ‘stop the steal,’ the slogan adopted by the mob that trashed the Capitol, assaulted cops, and stalked members of Congress on January 6, hundreds of whom are now facing criminal charges.
In her website (here), she describes herself as “a multifaceted influencer.”