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SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — On a Saturday morning at an arena outside Memphis, Terry Owens joined the crowd rushing to see former President Donald Trump.
They ranked by how much they paid.
At the far end of a white entrance tent, near a bus wrapped with a photo of Trump’s head on top of a muscular, shirtless body, were attendees who paid $55 for a pair of tickets as “citizens,” a general admission option. At the very front, closest to the doors guarded by Secret Service agents, stood a “presidential” row that yielded $3,995 each.
Owens, a 53-year-old nurse, bought a pair of VIP tickets for $800. She was not aware of where the money was going – nor did she care.
“I really wanted to contribute to where he can continue to do what he’s doing, travel around,” Owens said. “I know he probably doesn’t need financial help in any way, just to do my part to support him because I believe in what he’s doing.”
In fact, the fees do not go to Trump’s political action committee, his $100 million war chest. This event was not a free-to-attend Trump rally.
Instead, it was a benefit show, more like a rock concert. The proceeds benefit Trump personally as part of a multimillion-dollar speaking deal at the events, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The program, America’s Freedom Tour, is the brainchild of a longtime motivational speaker promoter with a trail of bankruptcy filings and business disputes across the country. A Trump adviser said very little vetting was done on the organizers.
A spokesman for the tour, Republican media consultant Larry Ward, said the 2020 election inspired the new business venture. “The tour was inspired by a nation of disillusioned voters and love for President Donald J. Trump,” he said. Ward declined to discuss Trump’s financial deal.
Trump’s spokesman, Taylor Budovitch, also declined to discuss his event fees. He said the former president likes to supplement his own rallies with speeches at events organized by other groups, such as the American Freedom Tour, the National Rifle Association, Turning Point USA and the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “There is tremendous demand for President Trump in every corner of the country, and he is driven by his love of America to continue to lead the MAGA movement in 2022 and beyond, sharing his ‘America First’ vision to huge crowds,” Budovich said .
Former presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have often taken paid gigs after leaving office and have been criticized for profiting from their services. But these fees are usually paid by businesses, not individual fans who may not understand where the money is going. Clinton and Michelle Obama have charged for book talks, with no ambiguity about the use of the proceeds.
“Paid presidential speeches are nothing new. It’s a nice job if you can get it,” said Mark K. Updegrove, president of the LBJ Foundation and author of “Second Acts: Presidential Life and Legacy After the White House.” “The difference here is that Trump is doing this under the guise of a political rally. There might be a little deception there.
It’s also common for politicians to offer access to big spenders, even though the money usually goes to a campaign — not just the candidate’s pockets. Trump’s money-making is especially brazen given that he is the only modern ex-president considering a re-run for the presidency.
“You have a guy who is effectively running for president who is running up financial debt,” said Jeffrey A. Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. “Donald Trump has never cared if his financial dealings looked improper. Trump plays by different rules.
Indeed, many gathered outside of Memphis didn’t take much notice of Trump’s prolific campaign fundraiser. Stephen Maybank, 60, bought “citizen” tickets with his wife after hearing about the event through text messages and emails similar to campaign fundraisers. “It’s just another form of donation for us,” he said.
Inside the arena, the former president’s appearance had all the trappings of a Trump rally: He hugged an American flag, expressed displeasure about the 2020 election and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol mocked transgender athletes, and hinted at a third run for the presidency.
The speaker series drew more than two dozen Republican luminaries, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, talk radio host Dan Bongino and right-wing influencer Candace Owens. One speaker who participated in the program said they negotiated a deal through a speaker’s bureau and agreed to give the talk because it was so lucrative.
Those who pay more get access to behind-the-scenes events, such as photos and personal Q&As. Top dollar brings a “patriotic” experience with a private afterparty and access to Trump — though the site doesn’t list how much that costs. The group declined to specify the rate, only that it was more than $4,000.
The tour’s promoter, Brian J. Forte, has produced events with motivational stars such as Tony Robbins and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. Forte’s seminars promise to teach strategies for business success, including personal reinvention. His own career path goes through a tortuous chain of failures.
Forte built an events business with her sister and her husband, Get Motivated, making $200,000 a year plus monthly bonuses, according to court records. But the couple divorced in 2011, leading to messy property disputes, including lawsuits in federal court in Florida and Virginia.
The parties eventually settled, but Forte’s business disputes did not end there. In 2014, a federal judge in Texas ordered a company he worked with to stop using the “Success” trademark that another company owned. Forte was also involved in the ventures, which were separately accused of obstructing a production company hired to organize events in Seattle and Portland and using the “Get Motivated” trademark and client database without making the required payments. Both cases were dismissed. Ward said the seller has been paid and the trademark conflict resolved.
According to court records and social media posts, Forte lived large, driving a Maserati and flying privately. But the expenses caught up with him — in a 2018 bankruptcy filing, he reported making $11,500 a month, not enough to cover his expenses, plus more than $2 million in debt. The bankruptcy case was dismissed after Forte failed to file required reports and fees.
By 2020, Forte was 48 years old and unemployed with no income to cover his court-ordered child support, according to the affidavit. “I am currently trying to find sponsors for new events,” Forte wrote.
His fortunes changed after the election. Forte was approached by Chris Widener, a motivational speaker who turned from business to politics, with blog posts repeating Trump’s false claims of massive fraud. In an interview with far-right broadcaster OAN, Widener said he wanted to create an event to give comfort for downtrodden Trump supporters.
“They’re deplorable, they’re racist, they’re sexist, they’re xenophobic, they’re transphobic – they’ve been beaten for five years,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we held a few rallies around the country and brought conservatives together so people could look around and say, ‘I’m not alone.’
The tour debuted in October in Jacksonville, Florida. The stop near Memphis on June 18 was the seventh so far, with another planned in Milwaukee in August.
Trump’s speeches at the events are often shorter than his typical political rallies. In addition to Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and other right-wing stars like pardoned author Dinesh D’Souza and Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb, the tour features speakers offering investment advice and promoting personal finance courses.
The Fort Lauderdale event, for example, featured Bob Kittel, a professional speaker who teaches memory-enhancing techniques. He declined to comment. Melanie Cimino D’Angelo, a retired real estate agent who attended the event, said she and her husband paid about $100 for the follow-up financial seminar, but couldn’t afford the six-month financial coaching course she took. remembers it cost thousands of dollars. “It was crazy, I don’t think they got too many people together,” she said. “If we could afford to go into it further, they gave us some very good information.”
Ward, the tour spokesman, said the programs “come with a 100 percent money-back guarantee.”
At a tour stop near Memphis, Widener’s vision connected with 18-year-old Maddie Cummings, a barista starting community college in the fall. Cummings said she can’t openly express her opinion at work without causing conflict, and wanted to attend the event because “you spend the day with people who have the same thoughts as you.” Her grandfather, Robert Edwards, of Hernando, Miss., bought tickets after seeing an ad on the highway for between $50 and $200 each.
The event was organized by unpaid volunteers who could watch the speeches for free. Ronnie Schwartz, 57, of Marianna, Arkansas, who chairs the county’s Women’s Republican Club, said Trump inspired her to run for justice of the peace. Schwartz said she wants to be able to tell her grandchildren, “I did everything I could to try to save us,” she said. “I’m praying that we can be saved and that we can do this… That’s what Trump taught me.”
Schwartz came with Lindsay Palmer, who serves as an election commissioner in Lee County, Ark. Palmer declined to say whether he believes the 2020 election was stolen. “I think something is going on,” she said.
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