$500,000 buys a “one-on-one meeting” with Trump
On Friday, President Trump is scheduled to appear at the Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, for a Turning Point USA event. Trump’s appearance at the event is part of Turning Point USA’s “Build the Red Wall” campaign. It is an effort championed by Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, to secure victories for MAGA candidates in the 2026 and 2028 elections by increasing Republican support in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.
The event is free for people who would like to listen to Trump’s speech from the pews at Dream City Church. But a more interactive experience is available — for a price.
An email sent by Sinan Kanatsiz, an obscure but well-connected figure in Trump’s political orbit, offers its recipients a “one-on-one meeting and private photo with President Donald Trump” in exchange for a “contribution of $500,000 to TPUSA PAC.”
Kanatsiz describes his invitation as “strictly confidential and non-transferable.” The bottom of the message warns, “NOT FOR SHARING — CONFIDENTIAL.” The email was obtained by Popular Information from a source who received it. The source shared the email on the condition of anonymity, fearing professional consequences for providing information to a journalist.
In a phone interview, Kanatsiz confirmed he made the solicitation.
In addition to the meeting with Trump, donors of $500,000 or more receive a tour of Turning Point USA headquarters, a meeting with the organization’s leadership, a dinner, lodging, and “round-trip travel via JSX to Scottsdale Private Airport.” JetSuiteX (JSX) is a semi-private charter plane service. Flights to Scottsdale on JetSuiteX are available from a variety of cities for a few hundred dollars.
Kanatsiz is the founder and CEO of KCOMM, a PR and government affairs firm, and the chairman of the Internet Marketing Association (IMA). Amanda Gort, KCOMM’s Vice President of Government Affairs, is a registered federal lobbyist. (Gort also works for IMA.) Kanatsiz has never registered as a lobbyist but operates as a high-level networker.
Kanatsiz has transformed IMA from a marketing group to an organization that connects business executives to government officials. The IMA website promises “access to an elite network“ for an annual membership fee of $10,000. The 2025 flagship event, IMPACT, touted that 17 members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and 12 members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), attended.
In December 2024, Kanatsiz coordinated an event at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in Florida, according to a report in the Orange County Business Journal (OCBJ). It was attended by David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, two of Trump’s top advisors on technology issues. While Trump did not formally address the group, “he did stop by to exchange pleasantries.”
Kanatsiz warned business owners to “align” with Trump or suffer the consequences. “Donald Trump is a businessman and any business owner who doesn’t want to align with this administration will be left in the dark,” Kanatsiz told the OCBJ. “I am all in to help my network grow, communicate and engage with our administration,” Kanatsiz said.
In a February message posted on LinkedIn, Kanatsiz wrote that “my family and I opened up our Command Center to host Turning Point USA’s leadership for an evening with more than 60 leaders.” According to Kanatsiz, the discussion included “the culture war with Gen Z, President Trump’s strategy with voters going into mid-terms and Turning Point USA’s priorities for the next 2–4 years.” Matt Scherr, the Senior Major Gifts Director at Turning Point USA, who Kanatsiz references in the email, was in attendance.
“My family and I are committed to Turning Point USA, to our country, to the administration, and most importantly the next generation of Americans,” Kanatsiz said.
In the phone interview, Kanatsiz described himself as a “volunteer” helping Turning Point. “I have a network of friends that want to support Turning Point that may have never met them,” he said. Kanatsiz said he sent the offer to meet with Trump to “a few people,” but “unfortunately, no one took it on.” He acknowledged it was a “big request.” Outside of his personal invitations, Kanatsiz said he had “no idea” if anyone had paid $500,000 for the opportunity to meet Trump.
The solicitation of $500,000 contributions, with the help of Trump, is a major acceleration in Turning Point PAC’s fundraising. The organization has raised less than $10 million since its founding in 2021, and about one-third of its funds were funneled from other Turning Point organizations. Turning Point PAC has received only five donations from individuals of $100,000 or more in its history. The two largest, from casino mogul Steve Wynn and hedge fund manager Tom Klingenstein in 2024, were $495,000 each.
Notably, Erika Kirk has endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president in 2028. (Vance appeared at a separate Turning Point event on Tuesday.) Turning Point PAC’s aggressive fundraising could signal a push to provide Vance with a shadow political infrastructure in advance of a formal campaign.
Thank you. Anyone have questions about why this country is tun by and for the wealthy? America is for sale.
The 2010 SCOTUS decision in favor of Citizen's United seriously destroyed whatever ethical behavior remained in politics after Burger's 1976 court decided in favor of Valero to allow the formation of super PACs. If you want to get all originalist about it, public office is intended to be a public service. One is "supposed" to want to do it for the love of country, not to make a profit. One is not intended to hold office indefinately. It is expected that after serving for a time (similar to military service) a political representitive would return to their "real job." Even government employees historically made very little money (compared to private sector positions), but were given instead a lifetime of security (through pensions and health care) in exchange for their lifetime of service.
For the sake of the health of our democracy, we MUST find a way to separate monetary gain from public service. It is the only way to restore integrity and eliminate the corruption.