Political Expert Tells Us Melania Trump's Fashion Consultant Fees Raise Big Red Flags
Melania Trump hasn't been joining Donald Trump much on the campaign trail as he works to become president again. It could be that Melania's distance from the campaign trail could be for Barron Trump's privacy, and Melania's focused on supporting her husband from behind the scenes. With Melania not on the campaign trail, some people are concerned that some campaign funds are improperly being used for her personal benefit.
The concern seems to center on payments by the Save America PAC, which supports Donald's reelection efforts, to fashion designer Hervé Pierre Braillard. The mid-year 2023 filing, for one, shows he was paid $18,000 a month for "strategy consulting." Braillard's connection to the former first lady includes him designing the dress that Melania wore in 2017 for the inaugural ball. Braillard has been referred to as Melania's stylist, though he told Vogue Portugal in 2017 that "my role is to dress the first lady and advise her — I'm not a stylist; I am an advisor, and she is adamant about that."
The List asked Caroline Heldman, a political science professor at Occidental College, what she thought about the payments to Braillard. For Heldman, these payments seem to be clearly problematic: "Donald Trump is signing off on the use of campaign funds for his wife's private expenses that are obviously not related to campaigning, and even if they were, would likely be prohibited under federal election laws."
Campaign funds can't be used for personal expenses by candidates
Political science professor Caroline Heldman made it clear that she feels the whole situation of Hervé Pierre Braillard being paid by the Save America PAC is improper. "Federal Election Commission laws are clear that candidates cannot spend campaign funds for personal use, but Melania is skirting this by claiming that Braillard also serves as an advisor." Whatever work Braillard might be doing, the Save America PAC is a leadership political action committee, and the FEC hasn't historically spent much time investigating leadership PAC personal use expenditures. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have used leadership PAC money to pay for what could seem like personal expenses.
For Heldman, it doesn't seem like there is a question about Braillard's work being for personal use considering his background. In that regard, for her, things just don't add up. "It's hard to imagine what a fashion designer with an art history degree has to offer in terms of advice on domestic or foreign policy or her Be Best cyber-bullying campaign," Heldman said.
There's also an issue of timing that, for Heldman, suggests the payments aren't entirely above board since he's been getting paid more since April 2022, presumably for his work with Melania. However, "Melania has barely been on the campaign trail during this time, and has not hosted any re-election campaign events," Heldman explained. This is further evidence that the large payments to Braillard are to support Melania's expensive lifestyle and not campaign work."
Hervé Pierre Braillard's work for the Trump campaign has been questioned by others
Caroline Heldman did note for The List that Melania Trump is not the first former first lady that Hervé Pierre Braillard has worked for — his clients have included women on both sides of the political aisle since the 1990s, including Donald Trump's former presidential competitor Hillary Clinton. However, Heldman pointed out that Melania "is the only first lady to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for his styling and 'advising.'"
If the money is indeed being spent to personally benefit Melania, Heldman sees it as having a possible impact beyond Donald and Melania. "Everyday Americans lose faith in the political system when public officials openly flaunt campaign laws by spending lavishly on personal expenses," Heldman said.
Melania's involvement with Braillard and what he's been getting paid for has been questioned before, including by Women's Wear Daily in August 2022. Melania's office released a statement to them that read, in part: "[Braillard's] work extends to many different fields, not just fashion design. His expertise is utilized for special projects and events." For his part, Braillard told Women's Wear Daily that his consulting work for Melania barely touched on anything fashion-related. "As with every other first lady, there is an after the White House life, which involves many other aspects than fashion."