Donald Trump’s PAC resorts to 'skiplagging': federal docs
How desperate was Donald Trump’s political action committee to avoid going broke while a black hole of massive legal bills sucked its $105-million bank account into near oblivion?
According to a recent Federal Election Commission filing, the PAC, called Save America, exploited a travel technique called “skiplagging” that airlines despise.
Save America spent $10 with Skiplagged, a website that helps travelers save on airfares by skirting ticketing regulations, federal records indicate.
The savings are a relative pittance compared to where the PAC’s bank account started the year. But Save America might have needed it as its coffers dwindled to $4 million, according to the FEC filing.
It’s unclear who the MAGA skiplagger is — likely a PAC staff member. It’s almost certainly not Trump himself, as he generally flies on a private Boeing 757 jet the former president has dubbed “Trump Force One”.
Save America PAC treasurer Bradley Crate could not be reached for comment.
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Skiplagging works like this: Because non-stop flights are in high demand, airlines can charge more for them than they would for passengers who continue to another destination.
Skiplagging is making the purported layover city your final destination and ditching the connecting flight.
Skiplagged.com uses as an example booking a one-stop flight from Atlanta to Dallas when you actually want to get off at the layover in Orlando. It claims that a $250 airfare can be reduced to $130.
Skiplagged.com calls the practice taking advantage of “loopholes.”
Skiplagging comes with its own headaches, and some airlines have sought to punish passengers who do it. But suffice to say, it isn’t something that conforms with Trump’s favored image of himself as a tycoon.
The legal bills listed in Save America PAC’s most recent FEC filing are massive.
Trump, who is leading in all polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, faces 37 criminal counts in a case involving classified documents and alleged obstruction of justice. He faces 34 felony charges related to an alleged scheme to cover up a sex scandal before the 2016 presidential election.
More indictments could be on the way from the state of Georgia and federal prosecutors investigating Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021.
