Campaign finance watchdogs have warned that as Donald Trump ramps up fundraising from big donors for his 2024 presidential campaign and allied Super Pacs, he is increasingly pledging to replace change regulations and other policies to promote their business activities. Experts say Trump’s political moves and activities are clearly a “transactional” pursuit of large sums of money, and pose a serious danger of massive corruption in the system. The US political system is already filled with powerful donors and lobbyists.

Trump’s transactional fundraising style has accelerated and has been accentuated by his aggressive efforts to win support and large sums of money from Elon Musk – the billionaire owner of social media platform X and is worth $263 billion alongside fossil fuel and cryptocurrency tycoons, while offering favorable federal policies and perks, according to critics.  To boost Trump’s electoral fortunes, the Musk-led America Pac spent nearly $60 million by mid-September while fossil fuel donors that Trump wholeheartedly supports spent more than $20 million to other pro-Trump Super PACs, his campaign and the Republican National Committee, according to OpenSecrets.

Trump’s courtship of Musk, who Trump says could play a big role on a new federal advisory board, and other super-rich donors has become more important to his chances in November as the war rages on. Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign has overall raised more money than Trump’s.