His self-promotion may have been shameless, but it wasn’t against the law.
The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint that President Trump used his 2016 campaign for “self-enrichment” purposes when he plugged his branded products while on the stump.
The filing, lodged by the left-leaning American Democracy Legal Fund, had dogged Trump for two years.
FEC members voted 3-1 to reject the claim, saying that Trump’s repeated boasts about his wine, water, steaks, golf courses and hotels “were made in the context of touting his business acumen” – not to boost sales.
Critics frequently derided Trump for pitching his products during the campaign.
“It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it,” he predicted to Fortune magazine in 2000.



