How TrumpPaintingGate allegedly went down. And, yes, Melania's involved as well.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

http://qz.com/779900/melania-trump-bid-20000-on-a-massive-painting-of-donald-trump-and-the-donald-j-trump-foundation-paid-for-it/

The setting is Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s palatial Florida estate, where a children’s charity was holding a benefit on a balmy evening in 2007. The big show that night Michael Israel, a “speed painter” who generates huge portraits in less than seven minutes. His subject, naturally, was Trump. After Israel finished his six-foot-tall portrait, the work would be auctioned.


When it came time to bid on the mammoth Trump picture, Melania, Trump’s wife, opened with $10,000. When no one else bid, the auctioneer urged her to double her bid, saying her participation had driven out would-be bidders. Melania complied, winning her husband’s speedily painted image for a cool $20,000.


But neither Trump nor Melania paid that $20,000 bill. The Trump Foundation did, reports the Post. Based on the recounting of the bidding, it seems Melania had no choice but to enter the auction. Otherwise the lack of bids would’ve humiliated Trump, and we know Trump does not countenance humiliation well.


However, Trump could have spent his own money to buy the painting. When you consider that in 2007, Trump gave his foundation $35,000, subtracting the cost of the painting, he only made a donation of $15,000 that year. The rest of his foundation’s funds are raised from other charities, to be disbursed by the Trump Foundation. It’s a style of philanthropy that closely resembles Trump’s modus operandi in business—using other people’s money to finance his projects. It’s similar to how he’s financed much of his presidential campaign.

If the glaring NPD from this incident wasn't so scary, it would be hilarious.

Basically, no one wanted a giant picture of Donald Trump sitting in their house. (I'm shocked!) So he forced his wife to bid on it, then double up on the bid, and when still no one wanted a giant picture of Donald Trump (Come on, now! What's wrong with you people?), he used his charity's credit card for the bill.

[bigbrother05]

1. And the Foundation wrote it off as a contribution to the children's charity