Over $100,000 is thought to have been earned by costume designer Hervé Pierre from Donald Trump ‘s super PAC in the final half of 2023 as the 2024 GOP runner lost money on mounting legal bills. According to the PAC’s filing with the Federal Election Commission, Pierre received payment in eight installments of $18,000 and one payment of $6,000 marked ‘Strategy Consulting,’ for a total of $132,000 in payments.
Melania Trump’s stylist has given $371,000 worth of strategy consulting advice to Trump’s Save America leadership PAC since April 2022 thanks to the generosity of retirees donating to Trump’s fundraising operation. https://t.co/l4BeSDtjBs pic.twitter.com/rHb0BwVxrc
— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) February 1, 2024
As per WWD , the famed designer had justified the payments, saying, “As with every other first lady, there is an after-the-White House life, which involves many other aspects than fashion. I am lucky to have worked in prestigious houses, to have designed [costumes] for ballets, and more recently to work in home decor. There are many upcoming projects in this after-the-White House [stage],’ Pierre said.
Incredibly, despite Trump’s cash crunch, his Save America leadership PAC shelled out another $108,000 in the first six months of the year for Melania Trump’s stylist, Herve Pierre Braillard, while insisting to the FEC that it’s for ‘strategy consulting’. pic.twitter.com/tWL9gmFIQF
— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) July 31, 2023
The former First Lady’s team had responded, “Mr. Pierre is a world-renowned artist. His work extends to many different fields, not just fashion design. His expertise is utilized for special projects and events.” For years, the former model has been styled by the French-American fashion designer , who also created the dress she wore to the former president’s 2017 inaugural ball.
Trump political Action committee paid Melania Trump hair stylist $380,000. PAC also paid 50 million dollars to Trump lawyers for Trump’s legal woo. On top of it PAC paid 1.7 million for private jet. Instead of using it to fund the investigation of stolen election when he appealed
— Dominic Ong (@DominicOng9) February 4, 2024
As per The Independent , Rob Pyers, research director for the California Target Book, tweeted the numbers in July 2023 projecting the payment: “Despite Trump’s cash crunch, his Save America leadership PAC shelled out another $108,000 in the first six months of the year for Melania Trump’s stylist, Herve Pierre Braillard, while insisting to the FEC that it’s for ‘strategy consulting’”.
Lawyer Ron Filipkowski, who is renowned for being a fervent Trump critic, tweeted : “Think of the 4,320 people who sent in $25 thinking they were ‘Saving America’ not realizing it was for Melania’s hairstylist.” Ellen Carmichael, the president of PR firm The Lafayette Company, wrote, “Weird that a dude can make $18k monthly to style a woman making virtually no public appearances.”
Melania Trump made her Stylist pay his own transportation from store to store picking up her clothing & delivering them to TT. Melania told me to tell Hérve, “SAVE THE RECIEPTS!” & she’d pay him back (not a cent more). She did NOT like to pay. TRUMP PAC is paying for Melania’s… https://t.co/SukiMoEhBr
— Stephanie Winston Wolkoff (@SWinstonWolkoff) February 1, 2024
In a 2017 interview with Vogue , Pierre stated that Melania was “adamant” about the fact that he is more than just a stylist. “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,” he said. “Who, as a free woman, is going to be told what to wear? It’s a conversation, a collaboration. Without intellectualizing, my advice is respectful and it makes sense.”
As per The Daily Mail , $56 million was spent on legal fees by Trump’s Make America Great Again and Save America leadership PACs last year, with $30 million of that amount coming in the latter half of 2023. For legal services, the committees paid at least 50 law firms, including those that are defending him in the criminal cases he is facing in New York, Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia, in addition to the civil fraud action filed against him.