Donald Trump campaigned in Lynden in 2016. Here’s how much he still owes Whatcom County
Former President Donald Trump still owes Whatcom County $53,000 for a hastily organized May 2016 rally during his first bid for the nation’s highest office.
Trump’s visit to the Lynden fairgrounds cost more than $300,000, mostly for police overtime and other security measures, according to previous Bellingham Herald reporting.
More than two dozen police, fire and emergency services agencies based in Whatcom County — and others from as far away as Bellevue and Seattle — assisted with the rally.
Records show that the 2016 Trump campaign ignored a bill for $53,000, Whatcom County spokesman Jed Holmes told The Herald.
“I understand that there were discussions of the county’s legal options for recovering the funds, but that did not to lead to legal actions,” Holmes said.
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu told The Herald that Trump’s campaign should have helped with the cost of security.
“Local governments have limited resources, and when local law enforcement has to work overtime to uphold public safety at a major campaign event, it seems appropriate and honorable for such a cash-rich campaign to reimburse these expenses,” Sidhu said in an email.
Trump, whose net worth is estimated at more than $4 billion, is the Republican Party’s nominee this year for the third straight presidential election cycle.
Neither the 2024 Trump campaign nor the Whatcom Republicans responded to a Herald email requesting comment about the $53,000 debt from 2016.
In the 2016 presidential campaign, where Trump defeated former U.S. senator and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Trump raised $333.1 million and spent $325 million, according to the nonprofit research group Open Secrets.
Political candidates and elected officials generally don’t reimburse local agencies for costs related to campaign stops, The Herald reported in 2016.
Because of the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, the Federal Election Commission is considering a rules change that would explicitly allow campaign donations to be used for security purposes.
“Consistent with prior FEC advisory opinions, the proposed rule would provide that the use of campaign funds to pay for the reasonable costs of security measures for a federal candidate or officeholder is not personal use as long as the payments are made for security measures that address ongoing dangers or threats that would not exist irrespective of the individual’s status or duties as a federal candidate or officeholder and would require that the disbursements be for the usual and normal charge for such goods and services,” the FEC said at its website.
This story was originally published August 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Donald Trump campaigned in Lynden in 2016. Here’s how much he still owes Whatcom County."
