Social media is buzzing after former US President Donald Trump may have unintentionally violated federal law while on the campaign trail by trying to “be good” to someone.
The incident happened at a small grocery store in Pennsylvania, where Trump generously offered to pay $100 for a woman’s groceries. “President @realDonaldTrump helps a mom of 3 pay for her groceries,” the Trump Campaign posted the video on X (formerly Twitter.)
While some applauded the gesture, others pointed out that this action could be a breach of election laws
The video shows Trump visiting Sprankle’s grocery store in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. As he mingled with shoppers and store employees, he encountered a woman who was shopping alone with her three children. The ex-prez then pulled out a $100 bill from his wallet and handed it to the woman to assist with her grocery bill. As he handed her the money, Trump remarked, “Here. It’s going to go down a little bit. It just went down $100.”
Trump then added, “We’ll do that for you for the White House, alright?” and then went on complimenting her son, “Beautiful.” A lot of people have interpreted this statement as a veiled inquiry into women’s votes, which has escalated legal worries about potential violations of election laws. Naysayers contend that it is unlawful, under federal election statutes, to offer money or any other valuable consideration in exchange for a ballot, thanks to the law prohibiting bribery in elections.
While the Trump campaign has not yet commented on the incident, opinions are divided. Some view it as a “kind gesture”, while others see it as “Offering money or any form of valuable consideration as a Presidential candidate in exchange for a vote is considered bribery and violates federal election laws.”
Former head of the Federal Election Commission, Hans von Spakovsky, dismissed the claims of wrongdoing as “absurd.” He told the Daily Mail, “Trump was obviously making what he considered to be a charitable donation and that in no way implicates any federal laws governing elections.”