visit melbourne campaign

New campaign to get Melbourne tourism back on track

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 Favorite

City of Melbourne Council has announced it will deliver more exciting events, enticing tourism initiatives and a bold new marketing campaign to boost visitation and better promote the city’s unique experiences.

​The campaign is part of Council’s new Experience Melbourne program, which it says will drive a city-focused approach to tourism and events to support Melbourne’s pandemic recovery and reaffirm the city as a world-class visitor destination.

They are backing our tourism sector right here in Melbourne and delivering a targeted approach that will see the industry boom, ensuring locals and international visitors flock to our capital once again, said Lord Mayor, Sally Capp. It’s critical we position Melbourne as a vibrant and exciting city through delivering marketing programs and supporting a diverse calendar of uniquely Melbourne events.

Melbourne is the events capital of Australia, and we want it to stay that way.  

City Activation portfolio lead Councillor, Roshena Campbell said the campaign will put a spotlight on Melbourne’s events, laneway dining, rooftop bars, world class theatre productions, enviable retail offerings and vibrant street art to ensure the city continues to attract locals and visitors from Victoria and interstate. 

Before COVID, our tourism sector was one of the most valuable industries in our economy, says Cr Campbell.

It suffered a devastating hit due to the pandemic falling from $32 billion to just $13 billion.

Experience Melbourne will allow us to drive visitation to turbocharge its recovery.  

Activating the city for the Commonwealth Games is also a key focus. Experience Melbourne will see visitor information services significantly enhanced to ensure those arriving in the city are met with a world-class welcome.

In addition, Experience Melbourne will drive accessible, inclusive and sustainable tourism services that enable all people to participate in the vibrant culture of the city. This will include marketing campaigns showcasing accessible Melbourne and improvements in signage across the city, Council said in a statement.

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City of Melbourne Council has announced it will deliver more exciting events, enticing tourism initiatives and a bold new marketing campaign to boost visitation and better promote the city’s unique experiences. 

​The campaign is part of Council’s new Experience Melbourne program, which it says will drive a city-focused approach to tourism and events to support Melbourne’s pandemic recovery and reaffirm the city as a world-class visitor destination. 

“We’re backing our tourism sector right here in Melbourne and delivering a targeted approach that will see the industry boom, ensuring locals and international visitors flock to our capital once again,” said Lord Mayor, Sally Capp.

“It’s critical we position Melbourne as a vibrant and exciting city through delivering marketing programs and supporting a diverse calendar of uniquely Melbourne events.

“Melbourne is the events capital of Australia, and we want it to stay that way.”    

City Activation portfolio lead Councillor, Roshena Campbell said the campaign will put a spotlight on Melbourne’s events, laneway dining, rooftop bars, world class theatre productions, enviable retail offerings and vibrant street art to ensure the city continues to attract locals and visitors from Victoria and interstate.     

“Before COVID, our tourism sector was one of the most valuable industries in our economy,” says Cr Campbell.

“It suffered a devastating hit due to the pandemic falling from $32 billion to just $13 billion.

“Experience Melbourne will allow us to drive visitation to turbocharge its recovery.”   

Activating the city for the Commonwealth Games is also a key focus. Experience Melbourne will see visitor information services significantly enhanced to ensure those arriving in the city are met with a world-class welcome. 

In addition, Experience Melbourne will drive accessible, inclusive and sustainable tourism services that enable all people to participate in the vibrant culture of the city. This will include marketing campaigns showcasing accessible Melbourne and improvements in signage across the city, Council said in a statement.

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The four friends go down Melbourne’s laneways decked out as hip hop artists, into a theatre in evening wear, to the art gallery, to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, shopping and to a bar.

At each location a different character says “it’s this way” until they reach the Rooftop Bar in Melbourne where one of the four friends says “I think this might be it”.

Peter Bingeman, Visit Victoria’s CEO, said in a statement: “This campaign reflects how visitors experience Melbourne’s many personas – serious, playful, quiet, dramatic, and full to the brim of cultural and sporting heroics. Every visit yields something new, different, exciting and unexpected.”

In conjunction with the short film, a digital platform has been created which allows visitors to use their smartphones to discover all the different Melbourne locations seen in the film.

James McGrath, creative chairman at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, said: “It’s a very rare privilege to communicate about the very nature of the city you are culturally so connected to. While so many destinations are renowned for how they appear, importantly, the many effects Melbourne has on those who experience it are proudly at the heart of this campaign.”

The campaign is set to run across TV, cinema, online, social and out-of-home.

• Client: Visit Victoria
• CEO, Peter Bingman
• General Manager, Consumer Markets, Nicki Kenyon
• Head of Domestic Markets, Nicole Bradley
• Advertising Manager, Fiona Ive
• Interstate Brand Campaign Manager, Daniel Bese
• Creative: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
• Production company: Revolver / Will O’Rourke
• Director: Gary Freedman
• Edit: The Butchery
• Editor: Jack Hutchings
• Online Edit: The Refinery
• Editor: Eugene Richards
• Sound House: Flagstaff / Sound Lounge
• Music: Level Two Music/Gaga Music – Harry James Angus

Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.

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Home » News » Visit Victoria Launches Stunning $3 Million ‘Wander Victoria’ Campaign

Visit Victoria Launches Stunning $3 Million ‘Wander Victoria’ Campaign

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and Visit Victoria (formerly Tourism Victoria) are launching a new campaign designed to encourage Melbourne residents to get out of the city and experience what the rest of Victoria has to offer.

‘Wander Victoria’ is all about slowing down and having a different type of travel experience – one where you take the time to connect, rather than trying to cram as much in as possible.

The first TVC starts with two couples enjoying lunch at a winery. The men decide to walk home, embarking on a journey that covers all eleven of Victoria’s regions in a single day. Seems like a bit of a stretch, but the visuals look good.

Victoria’s landscapes have as a result become an incidental (yet crucial) backdrop to the campaign, in this break from traditional tourism campaigns that favours unusual locations over well known spots of regional Victoria.

The campaign is a long-term strategy with new storylines and characters to be revealed in subsequent phases, highlighting different experiences around Victoria as it unfolds.

Visit Victoria acting director of marketing and airline services Melanie de Souza said Wander Victoria is their first marketing campaign aimed specifically at Melbourne residents.

“In a cluttered media environment and increasing competition in the travel category, we are confident that the quirky narrative and creative treatment will resonate well with Melbourne audiences,” she said.

“The main film aims to highlight regional Victoria’s scenic beauty and diverse natural landscapes as these are key motivators for Melburnians to travel to regional Victoria.”

“Wandervictoria.com is the website underpinning the campaign and the suite of online and media partnership activity focuses on the curation of ‘bite-size’ information targeted towards consumers at all life-stages,” de Souza added.

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne senior creative Lee Sunter added, “Everyone’s busy – which means the greatest modern luxury is time. This campaign shows how it feels when you find that time in regional Victoria”.

The campaign will launch on Sunday via TV, cinema, press, digital and social platforms.

This article was stolen from our sister publication B&T.

Credits visit victoria acting director of marketing and airline services melanie de souza group manager regional marketing shae keenan group manager brand strategy & advertising nicole bradley clemenger bbdo creative chairman james mcgrath executive creative director ant keogh senior creatives lee sunter, alex derwin, hilary badger account management simon lamplough, jonathan pangu, paige prettyman, rebecca orlandi strategic planner matt kingston senior producer karolina bozajkovska production director steve ayson producer allison lockwood executive producer edward pontifex production company the sweet shop managing director wilf sweetland dop germain mcmicking art director lucinda thomson editor jack hutchings, the butchery post production eugene richards, the refinery colourist edel rafferty, method studios music elliot wheeler, turning studios casting director fiona dann, casting sugar, email the travel weekly team at [email protected], latest news, australia fails to make top 10 destination list for american travellers.

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Come and Say G’day

Come and Say G’day  is Tourism Australia’s new global campaign to support the Australian tourism industry rebuild.

Come and Say G’day is the next instalment of Tourism Australia’s There’s Nothing Like Australia global brand platform. With travel being restricted for the last two years, Come and Say G’day is a joyful, creative and unmistakably Australian invitation to the world. The multi-channel campaign will introduce the world to two lovable CGI animated characters; Ruby, a souvenir kangaroo, voiced by Australian actor Rose Byrne, and Louie, a toy unicorn, representing international visitors, voiced by actor Will Arnett.

The Come and Say G’day campaign is set to run across Tourism Australia’s 15 key international markets from October 2022 and aims to support the tourism industry’s recovery by driving demand for travel to Australia. The campaign will capture the world’s imagination with a short film and television commercial (TVC) as well as print and high-impact out-of-home creative, social, digital, editorial and partner advertising. The music featured in the TVC is a re-interpretation of the classic Australian anthem Down Under , by up-and-coming band King Stingray, who sing in both English and Yolŋu Matha - an Indigenous language from North East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.

Industry Toolkit

How to get involved.

Tourism Australia has developed a campaign toolkit with campaign information, social media tools and a range of static and video assets for operators. Industry are encouraged to download the toolkit and utilise the assets in their own digital and social channels. In addition, industry are encouraged to get involved in the campaign by:

• Sharing product/experience photos and tagging #comeandsaygday and #seeaustralia so they can be promoted on Tourism Australia’s social media channels. Images selected will be credited and tagged in any content used.  
• Subscribe to Tourism Australia’s weekly industry e-newsletter Essentials for updates on how to get involved.
• Download images and videos free of charge from Tourism Australia’s galleries.
• Ensure product information and rates are up to date with partners and on distribution channels, including on the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse.

How to use the toolkit

'g'day' the short film, discover more.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners of the land, sea and waters of the Australian continent, and recognise their custodianship of culture and Country for over 60,000 years.

*Disclaimer:  The information on this website is presented in good faith and on the basis that Tourism Australia, nor their agents or employees, are liable (whether by reason of error, omission, negligence, lack of care or otherwise) to any person for any damage or loss whatsoever which has occurred or may occur in relation to that person taking or not taking (as the case may be) action in respect of any statement, information or advice given in this website. Tourism Australia wishes to advise people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent that this website may contain images of persons now deceased.

Public Transport Victoria says explore the ‘World of Melbourne by Bus’ via GPY&R, Melbourne

Buses trail behind other forms of public transport in both perception and usage. But thanks to improvements in coverage, frequency and passenger information, Melburnians who do give buses a try tend to be pleasantly surprised.

To help potential passengers overcome their misconceptions, the campaign showcases the destinations buses serve via a range of ‘travel poster’ style illustrations that bring to life the amazing pockets of culture and identity that make Melbourne such a vibrant and exciting place to live. The artwork has been specially commissioned for the campaign and was created by a range of Australian illustrators in conjunction with The Jacky Winter Group.

VIEW THE CAMPAIGN HUB

Says Philip Askew, general manager, Public Transport Victoria: “Buses are the unsung heroes of Melbourne’s transport network. This campaign aims to challenge this by focusing on local areas, show casing key destinations in a unique, visually-arresting style while heroing the bus as the primary mode of transport.”

GPY&R Melbourne is part of WPP AUNZ, Australasia’s leading marketing content and communications group.

Public Transport Victoria

General Manager: Philip Askew

Marketing Manager: Nicole Gottliebsen

GPY&R Melbourne

Senior Art Director: Kieran Moroney

Senior Copywriter: Aaron Pepper

Designer: Lewis Brown

Agency Producer: Lucy Welch

Group Account Director: Matt Hunt

Account Directors: Cathryn Reed, Sarah Naumoski

Strategy Director: Mike Hyde

Senior Strategist: Alex Horner

Senior Backend Developer: Mark Natividad

Digital Producer: Jo Manning

Digital Designer: Rosalie Iaria, Johanna Nightingale

Illustrators: Stuart McLachlan, Nigel Buchanan, Timba Smits, Marc Martin, Christopher Nielsen, Eamon Donnelly, James Fosdike

Producer: Li Liang Johnson

18 Comments

Well done Kieran! These look ace.

Gorgeous! Ace work guys 🙂

This is gorgeous. Love the work Patts.

Nice to see craft really being pushed

Really like this body of work! But then I am a fan of good Illustration. Nice work Patts.

Beautiful work K Dawg.

they look great but…. is there an idea here, do they need an idea, is it enough just to look pretty? genuine questions to the people that made them, would be great to hear the strategy here

Good ads. These are nice looking things.

Beautiful work from Illustrators: Stuart McLachlan, Nigel Buchanan, Timba Smits, Marc Martin, Christopher Nielsen, Eamon Donnelly, James Fosdike.

Refreshing. Great work guys! Kieran and Lewis.. ace.

Beautiful work Stuart, Nigel, Timbo, Marcos, Christopher, Eamon and James. Amazing work as always. Bonza!

Beautiful work for a FUGLY city.

Nice looking posters but that’s it. Doesn’t make me want to get on the bus and go to these suburbs. I doubt it will improve revenue for PTV, but they obviously have money to waste.

We live in port melb and love the port poster. Is there a way these can be purchased? Thank you Dena.

Fantasic art work. I would like copies even as post cards…..where is the one for Croydon?

Saw one of these at Werribee Station and was blown away. It is bright and friendly and unlike anything else before it. Sort of reminded me of the ads they used to have in the old underground at Spencer St station. I am tempted to visit some of the places but confess that most I do not know of. Is there a list somewhere of what and where these places are?

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Melania Trump to hit campaign trail for husband after early absence

The enigmatic former first lady to appear at fundraiser on Saturday, marking a return to her husband’s side as he seeks re-election

Her biggest fashion statement as first lady was a green jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don’t care, do u?” More recently, Melania Trump has given the impression that she doesn’t care whether her husband, Donald, returns to the White House. That is about to change.

On Saturday Melania, 53, will appear at a fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, for the Log Cabin Republicans, the biggest Republican organisation dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives. It will be her first appearance at a political event since Trump, 77, launched his bid to regain the presidency.

It comes at the end of a week that saw Melania’s husband become the first former US president in history to stand criminal trial. The case, involving a hush-money payment by Trump to an adult film performer, would be enough to test any marriage. Yet it seems that the former and possible future first lady is again prepared to campaign for her spouse – up to a point.

“It’s not going to be in volume but you’ll see her at key moments,” said Mary Jordan , author of The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump. “She likes to heighten the interest in her appearances by being scarce. It’s very intentional, like a movie star who doesn’t want exposure. She’s hyper-aware of her persona and her celebrity. This is a model who learned to get covers of magazines so she wants to be in control. ”

The former Slovenian model, who married Trump in 2005, became only the second foreign-born first lady in US history. She delayed moving to the White House after Trump won the 2016 election because she was renegotiating their prenuptial agreement , according to Jordan’s book, and in one notorious incident was seen swatting his hand away. She had a rivalry with Trump’s daughter Ivanka. But she came to love the trappings and prestige of being first lady.

Since Trump’s defeat in 2020 she has maintained a low profile. Her main public appearances have included a memorial service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, a funeral for Trump’s older sister and the funeral for her mother, Amalija Knavs . Last year she addressed a naturalisation ceremony in Washington, telling new Americans that citizenship means “actively participating in the democratic process and guarding our freedom”.

But her absence is often more notable than her presence. Melania has been missing from Trump’s run of campaign rallies and court appearances. When he celebrated Super Tuesday primary election victories with a party at Mar-a-Lago, his children Don Jr, Eric and Tiffany were there but his wife was not .

It is a potentially worrying sign for Trump in a country that traditionally prizes political candidates with loyal spouses and wholesome families. The spouse is often a vital surrogate, able to step in at fundraisers or other events; few doubt the authenticity of the love affair between Joe and Jill Biden. But the Trumps, who typically sleep in separate rooms and lead separate lives, have never followed anyone else’s playbook.

Just as in the 2016 campaign, Jordan believes that Melania will pick and choose her moments for maximum effect. “She doesn’t like being on the political road but she likes to be a celebrity and she will be out there,” she said. “There were parts of being first lady that she loved and so you’re just going to see her pick her shots. She’ll go to events that she can have maximum control over. She won’t do too many because she absolutely knows newspapers write about it and she’s on TV.

“Everything she does is very thought out and calculated at. Yes, we’re going to be seeing her at key moments but we’re not going to be seeing her as other political spouses are. She never has and never will act like any other political spouse the country’s ever seen. When he started running the first time, people were like, wow, this is crazy, this is such a valuable asset staying at home. But she’s definitely doing it her way.”

It might be assumed that this week would be an especially rough one for Melania. Jury selection has been under way for Trump’s trial in New York on charges of falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 hush-money payment made to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence about an alleged sexual encounter that took place not long after Melania gave birth to their son Barron.

Melania, who rarely betrays emotion in public, is known to have been furious about reports of the affair when they first surfaced, flying off to Palm Beach and taking a separate car to his first State of the Union address. But she is now said to be more sympathetic to Trump, privately calling the proceedings “a disgrace”, the New York Times reported .

Jordan, a reporter for the Washington Post newspaper, commented: “She was mortified at the time and furious at her husband when she found out originally . But now she thinks that this is being used as a political weapon against her husband and she’s focusing her anger on that.”

Indeed, the New York trial is unlikely to deliver surprise revelations that Melania is not aware of already. Kurt Bardella , a Democratic strategist, said: “This is what she signed up for. She knows who this guy is. It’s no surprise that he’s a serial philanderer. Whatever trade-offs she has made to live the life that she wants to live, she is comfortable with them. She makes her own choices and I couldn’t care less.”

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Bardella, a former senior adviser for Republicans on the House of Representatives oversight committee, added: “I do think that when you are auditioning to be the first family of America there is an expectation from the public that you are open and transparent about what your real family situation is and those who have fallen short of that have paid a political price over the years. For the party that wraps itself and this cloak of so-called family values all the time, it’s interesting that they seem to completely bypass that when it comes to their leader.”

Melania’s current main focus has been preparing Barron for university after he graduates from a private high school in May (Trump complained on social media this week that he might miss his son’s graduation because of the New York trial). But Trump often brings up her name at rallies, sometimes with some rare self-deprecation, and has assured crowds that they will see her on the campaign trail.

Melania is thought to be one of the few people that Trump trusts to be straight with him. The former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told a congressional panel investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol: “He listens to many of us, but he reserves fear for one person, Melania Trump.”

Indeed, Melania helped persuade Trump to select Mike Pence, rather than Chris Christie or Newt Gingrich, as his vice-presidential candidate in 2016. She also encouraged him to support the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz’s losing effort in Pennsylvania’s Senate race in 2022. Melania is now said to be lobbying for Conway to return to the fold in an official capacity.

She is also known to have admonished Trump on occasion for vulgar outbursts or mockery of people with disabilities. But there is no evidence that she intends to act as a brake on his radical rightwing policy agenda.

Speaking last month at the Politics and Prose bookshop in Washington, Katie Rogers , author of American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden, said: “There was this idea that she would be a secret resistance figure early on. First ladies channel and mirror their husbands, even in this case. She shares his grievances. She has the same anger over how her family is perceived and covered as he does. They’re more united in that dynamic than people think.”

Rogers, a White House correspondent for the New York Times and former Guardian reporter, said she did not know if the couple would remain married through a second term. “I know they have an agreement in place in the event that they’re not. But she likes the role.”

Biden v Trump: What’s in store for the US and the world On Thursday 2 May, 3-4.15pm ET, join Tania Branigan, David Smith, Mehdi Hasan and Tara Setmayer for the inside track on the people, the ideas and the events that might shape the US election campaign. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

• Melania Trump
• US elections 2024
• Donald Trump
• Republicans
• US politics

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Trump is funneling campaign money into cash-strapped businesses. Experts say it looks bad.

Donald Trump’s main 2024 White House campaign fundraising operation sharply increased spending at the former president's properties in recent months, funneling money into his businesses at a time when he is facing serious legal jeopardy and desperately needs cash.

Trump’s joint fundraising committee wrote three checks in February and one in March to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, totaling $411,287 and another in March to Trump National Doral Miami for $62,337, according to a report filed to the Federal Election Commission this week.

Federal law and FEC regulations allow donor funds to be spent at a candidate’s business so long as the campaign pays fair market value, experts say. Trump has been doing it for years , shifting millions in campaign cash into his sprawling business empire to pay for expenses such as using his personal aircraft for political events, rent at Trump Tower and events at his properties, which has included hotels and private clubs.

While the practice is legal, some campaign finance experts believe it raises ethical concerns when a candidate is generating personal revenue off running for office.

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“When voters see something like this happening it contributes to their distrust of the political system and their elected officials' motives,” said Shanna Ports, senior legal counsel with the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government accountability group.

Trump faces huge legal costs amid multiple civil and criminal cases

The money Trump’s campaign is spending at his businesses could help the former president as he faces a big cash crunch.

Trump has been hit with a pair of large financial judgements after losing two civil lawsuits.

He posted a $91.6 million bond in a defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll , and a $175 million bond in a fraud case involving falsifying business records. The New York attorney general is challenging whether the deal Trump made to post the larger bond payment is financially sound.

The payments Trump’s campaign has made to his businesses are small compared to his large court-ordered financial judgements, but have been growing in recent months.

The Trump campaign and affiliated political committees paid businesses owned by Trump at least $4.9 million since the start of 2023, according to an analysis by USA TODAY. Most of that money – $4.1 million – went to TAG Air, Inc. for air travel.

Trump lists TAG Air, Inc among his assets on his latest financial disclosure required of presidential candidates, with a value of between $5 million and $25 million. It operates his private aircraft, nicknamed Trump Force One.

Trump's various campaign committees and a super PAC controlled by his supporters also spent at least $809,000 at his properties since the beginning of last year.

Campaign spending at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Doral in Miami

The bulk of the campaign spending at Trump's properties since the start of 2023 — $663,000 — has been at Mar-a-Lago, and most of it occurred in February. It’s not clear what events the money went toward.

A Trump spokeswoman did not respond to specific questions about the campaign spending at his properties but instead sent a statement attacking President Joe Biden.

Other GOP candidates also have been spending considerable campaign cash at Trump properties.

Ohio Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno's campaign spent $109,000 on "event catering" at Mar-a-Lago in April, December and January of 2023, records show. Trump endorsed Moreno in December . Moreno won the primary in March and will face three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.

Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Jim Marchant's campaign spent about $67,000 at Mar-a-Lago on "event venue rental and catering" in November and December. Trump backed Marchant in his unsuccessful bid to be Nevada's secretary of state in 2022. Marchant is now seeking to unseat first-term Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

A PAC called Giuliani Defense spent $2,400 on fundraising expenses and food at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey in January. That PAC has spent $540,000 on legal fees, according to FEC filings. Trump hosted a fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani at Bedminster in September to help with the former New York mayor's legal costs, which stem in part from the criminal charges Giuliani faces in Fulton County, Georgia, for trying to help Trump overturn the 2020 election.

Trump hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5 with a large group of supporters to watch the Super Tuesday primary election results from 16 states. He also held a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in October that drew hundreds of supporters, including U.S. Reps Marjorie Taylor Green and Byron Donalds, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and the actress Roseanne Barr.

Another fundraiser at Trump National Doral in March was hosted by former Ambassador Carlos Trujillo, with the money benefiting the Make America Great Again, Inc. super PAC.

The Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, which raises money for Trump’s campaign and his Save America leadership PAC accounted for the majority of the spending at Trump properties, with other expenses paid for by Trump’s main campaign committee, the MAGA Inc. super PAC and Save America.

Concerns about Trump's business conflicts go back to 2016 election

Questions about how Trump’s businesses have benefited from his political career have swirled around him throughout the former president’s three campaigns and his four years in the White House.

Under pressure to avoid potential conflicts of interest between his role as president and his vast business dealings, Trump declared after winning the 2016 election that he wouldn't cut any "new deals." The incoming president also put his two adult sons in charge of the family business, which was controlled by a trust that critics said didn't have strong enough requirements to prevent potential ethical conflicts.

Lawsuits accusing Trump of violating the emoluments clauses in the Constitution during his presidency were unsuccessful. Critics said those seeking to influence Trump's administration funneled money into his businesses, including a hotel near the White House in Washington, D.C. that has since been sold and rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria.

America Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint with the FEC in 2016 alleging “Mr. Trump is using funds from his presidential campaign to further his business and personal interests." The complaint was dismissed, but concerns remain in the minds of some campaign finance experts.

"People should be running for office because they want to serve the public, not because they want to enrich themselves," Ports said. "So the fact that campaigns are allowed to pay the candidate’s business raises those concerns. While legal, it creates kind of a negative impression of the election system."

Richard Briffault, a legislation professor at Columbia Law School, said Trump's use of campaign funds at his businesses may not be illegal, but it's "a little bit dicey."

'Nobody's ever seen anything like it'

Briffault said the only comparable political candidate with such a sprawling business may be former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who ran for president as a Democrat, but even then, they’re not an exact comparison. “Everything with Trump, nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” he said.

The primary thing Trump’s businesses need to do is charge his campaign and PACs the same amount they would charge any other paying customer for the services. But there’s also an ethical question of whether the campaign and PACs could get a better deal somewhere else.

“How much are they charging? And to what extent are they putting people up who might be staying someplace else that might be cheaper?” Briffault asked. “You could imagine that there could be cheaper venues to these things, but they’re purposely holding them there.” 

Trump's leadership PAC also has been spending vast sums on attorneys as the president faces four criminal cases. He currently is on trial in New York City in a case involving alleged payments to an adult film star during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual affair.

Since days after the 2020 election, the leadership PAC Save America spent more than $72.5 million on legal bills to many of the same firms that are representing him in his civil and criminal cases. That fund accounts for the bulk of his legal spending, but his affiliated committees have spent millions more.

Spending money on legal issues is not unusual for a campaign, but campaign finance experts say Trump has pushed the boundaries of what is allowable.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden at a Campaign Event | Tampa,   FL

Hillsborough Community College, Dale Mabry Campus Tampa, Florida

3:30 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Please, sit down.

Before I begin, I want to say something to the kids here.  Your mom and dad, they owe you big for being here.  (Laughter.)  So —

(The President addresses children in the audience.)  (Inaudible.)

Where’s one of my team?  You know the deal when I got two young men over here making a sacrifice?  You know what we’re going to do, right?

AIDE:  Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT:  (The President addresses children in the audience.)  (Inaudible) my staff is going to come over and give you 5 bucks so you can buy ice cream for yourselves, or you can make mom and dad pay if they (inaudible).  All right?  Okay?  All right.

Okay.  I got that settled.  (Applause.)

You know, I — I look out at these beautiful children, and I think to myself, “They’re having to stand here and listen to some guy they have no idea what the heck he’s talking about.”  (Laughter.)  And I think of — you know, they think when you — when you have — when you’re elected to office, it’s great to have — your children have a great opportunity.  It’s a pain in the neck for them.  (Laughter.)  My kids had to stand for so many meetings.  I — anyway, I owe them big.   Look, first of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for being here.  Thank you for all you’re doing.  And it means a great deal.  Florida — I think Florida is in play, nationally.  (Applause.)   And Nikki is doing a hell of a job as your state chairman.  (Applause.)  And I made her promise she’s going to run again, I hope.  (Laughter and applause.)   Look, a couple of things I want to say.  You know, one of the things that earlier today I spoke about — up in Washington and — and, actually, also last week — talking about that this election is a basic, old-fashioned election.  It’s about getting out the votes.  It’s about putting together campaigns the old-fashioned way.  Not — not that we don’t use all the technology available, but just everything from knocking on doors to putting up road signs to make sure that we get people to the polls and all those things.    And, you know, it’s a — we’ve got to — there are some animated issues.  Obviously, choice is one of the biggest ones.  But it’s not the only one.    You know, I know you’re reading in the press lately that there’s a great concern among — I’ve been doing this for a couple years.  (Laughter.)  Well, it’s hell turning 50.  You know what I mean?  (Laughter.)    And as — and I’ve spent an awful lot of my time dealing with foreign policy because I was chairman of that committee and because that’s why Barack asked me to — for eight years, to handle portions of that.  And one of the things that people don’t understand, I don’t think, fully, is we are the essential nation.    No, not a joke.  It’s not hyperbole.  It’s not bragging.    It’s — think of it this way: If the United States stepped off the world stage, like Trump wants us to do, who would lead the world?  Who would lead the world?    And one of the things that’s happening now is that — and I’ve — say this in front of the press that — they’ve heard me say it before.  Every international meeting I attend with other heads of state — whether it’s the G7, the G20, all these international meetings — before I leave, literally, almost every one will walk up to me and wait to get me in a corner alone and grab my arm and say, “You’ve got to win.”  Not because of me, but because of the alternative.  And they say, “Because my democracy depends upon it,” meaning their democracy.   So, the whole world is looking, and they’re looking to see how we handle ourselves in this election — not just on whether we win or not but how we handle ourselves.   And one of the things that — you know, for me, I got involved when I was a kid in electoral politics out of the Civil Rights Movement.  And it all got down to one person at a time — I mean it sincerely — organizing.    My state, to its great shame, was segregated by law.  That’s why I got involved as a kid when I got out of high school and into college.  And it’s about just doing the basic things: talking to people — literally, talking to people.   And, for example, we’re — I’m really excited.  We’ve raised almost a half a billion dollars so far.  (Applause.)   But here’s what excites me: So far, we have 1.6 million contributors — 1.6 million contributors — 550,000 more than we had last time at this stage of the game.  But here’s the deal.  Of those 1.6 million contributors, 97 percent contributed less than $200.  Think of all the numbers that that means.   We’re in a situation where they have — and as I said, where we raised almost — we’re headed toward a half a billion dollars.  And that’s all about ma- — being able to do the things we have to do in a campaign, especially one that’s as hard-fought as this and one that is so full of lies, so full of misrepresentations being made.   I think — you know, whether the press thinks I’m good, bad, or indifferent, I think they acknowledge that there’s less than truth that comes out of the other guy’s mouth.  And, you know, you wouldn’t know it from what you read and hear, but, you know, we’re in pretty good shape in the polls.  The — and I know you’re all activists, so that’s why I’m bothering to tell you this: The polls don’t win you an election.  (Applause.)   But in the last 23 national polls, I’ve been ahead in 10 of them, Trump has been ahead in 8, and we’ve been tied in 5.  More importantly, the momentum is clearly in our — our favor.   For example, we moved eight points in the latest Marquette poll and seven points in the Echelon poll.  And the Marist Poll now has us up by three nationwide.    The point I’m making is, people are beginning to listen.  This is a time people begin to focus and listen.  They have generic impressions up to now, but now they’re l- — they’re listening.  And they’re beginning to listen.   And so, this campaigns — how many offices have we opened now, total?  Where — where is my —   AIDE:  A hundred and thirty-three.   THE PRESIDENT:  A hundred — we — we’ve opened a hundred — (applause) — a hundred and thirty-three offices.    And here you are.  That’s — that’s the note I had.  Yeah.    And here in Florida, we’re opening coordinated offices, hiring staff, and recruiting volunteers as well.   But, you know, I know we can do this, but I’ve never been more optimistic.  I know — I’ve been saying this for a long time: I’ve never been more optimistic about America than I am today.    You know, when I w- — I wasn’t going to run in 2020, because I had lost my son in Iraq — because of Iraq in — in 19- — anyway, in 2015.    But what happened was, remember when, in — down in — in Virginia, those folks came out of the woods carrying torches and with Nazi banners and singing?  For real.  It’s hard to make it up — make it up.  And — and it just was astounding to me.  And a young woman was killed — I spoke to her mom — who was a bystander.    And they asked then-President Trump what he thought, and he said there were — “I think there are very fine people on both sides.”  That’s when I decided I had to run, for real, because our democracy is also at stake — literally, the democracy is at stake.   But the way to make sure people understand that is to go out and find out what’s on their minds, see what they need.  What is it they’re most concerned about?  And, you know, we — you know, we’ve — we’ve had enormous success when we’ve actually asked people — when we go out and do it the old-fashioned way.  And we’re just really kicking it up now.   We’re, you know — we’re getting toward the end here.  Last time out, we ran and we m- — we raised the vast majority of the money we made in the last three months.  That’s when people began to focus.    But we’re going to do — we’re going to be — we have to be really organized in a big way.  But it’s basic organization; it’s not rocket science.  It’s — it’s knocking on doors.  It’s sending out postcards.  It’s getting on the telephone.  It’s going around and making sure people have rides to the polls, all those things.    And, by the way, when I ran this time, I made it real clear what I was going to do.  I said I was going to change the way our economy works, instead of trickle-down economics where they go — where the very wealthy get all the tax breaks and all that will trickle down and grow the economy.  I’m a capitalist.  I don’t care if you — if you make a billion bucks.  Just pay your taxes.  (Applause.)   No, I — I really mean it.  You know what the average tax rate for someone making — there’s — we have a thousand billionaires in America.  You know what their average tax rate is?  8.3 percent.  It’s not a joke.  8.3 percent.  Anybody want to trade with their tax rate?    AUDIENCE:  Yes!   THE PRESIDENT:  But, look, everything we’ve done because of your help you’ve provided over the last three and a half years, he wants to undo.  He’s made no bones about it — all of it.  Just like you have a — Scott wants to get rid of Social Security.  You know, these guys are for real.    But look at what we’ve done.  We built — we’ve got a lot — we’ve got a lot more work to do, but we built the strongest economy in the world.  We got to get inflation even further down.  There’s a lot more we have to do.

And, by the way, I know a lot of people got — got a little frustrated with me when I said I’m going to be the most pro-union president in American history.  Well — (applause) — well, guess what?  I asked the Treasury Department to do a study: With all the union help we’re getting and all the union support that we’re — they’re h- — they’re getting, what — what’s the impact?  Everybody does better.  Everybody does better, even the people who are [not] paying for the union dues, because guess what?  I mean, paying the union wage — because they get the best workers in the world.   So, my — my generic point is there’s a lot we have going.  There’s no reason why we can’t — we can’t reclaim our heritage and who we are as the most generous, leading nation in the world and still grow.    So, there’s a lot more to say, but I’m already saying too much.    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  No, you’re not.  No, you’re not, Mr. President.  No, you’re not.  (Applause.)    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Teamster in the house.   THE PRESIDENT:  Teamsters in the house, that’s the — I tell you what.  They better damn well be in the house, man.  (Laughter and applause.)  I tell you what.    AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The only reason I have a pension —   THE PRESIDENT:  And, by the way —   AUDIENCE MEMBER:  — is because of you, sir.   THE PRESIDENT:  Is that right?   AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The only reason I have a pension is because of you.   THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we did get that done.  (Applause.)      Anyway.  Besides, I used to drive an 18-wheeler.  You know what I did?   AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) you helped negotiate.     THE PRESIDENT:  That’s exactly right.   AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thirty-billion-dollar contract with one of the largest employers in America: UPS.  You stood strong with us, and we’ll stand strong with you, sir.   THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.  (Applause.)   I mean, look, I’m getting a little off course here.  But the bottom line is this — (laughter) — it matters to ordinary people.    When I said, when I got elected, I was going to build an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, because that way the poor have a chance, the middle class grow, and the wealthy still do very well.  They still do very well.    And it’s working.  We’ve — we have 16 million new employ- — I mean, we — it’s working.    We still have to deal with inflation, and there’s a lot of costs out there for ordinary people.  We’re going to be getting you a lot of information to get to the folks out there.   But, for example, we’re in a situation now where you have a circumstance where there’s a lot of junk fees.  For example, you have a bank overdraft, they charge you 37 bucks instead — but guess what?  Now they can only charge you eight.  (Applause.)  Because they’re supposed — because it ju- — I don’t want to cost them money, but that — exorbitant prices they’re charging.   Same with credit card overdrafts.  Same — a whole range of things that affect people.    My dad — I’ll end with my dad.  My dad used to say — my dad was a really well-read man who never got a chance to go to college because of World War Two.  And his in- — he’d always say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your dignity.  It’s about respect.  It’s about being able to look your kid” — he meant it — “being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be okay,’ and mean it.”   The only thing we’re about as Democrats, in my view, is giving everyone a shot.  Everyone gets a fair shot.   And I’ll be damned if we’re not going to do that this time out.  (Applause.)   So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.   Good seeing you.     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you, Mr. President.   THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)   (Inaudible.)   Hey —   AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!   THE PRESIDENT:  (Inaudible) 10 bucks?    AIDE:  (Inaudible.)   THE PRESIDENT:  All right.  Okay.  Hey, kids, remember what I told you now?  (Laughter.)  Remember our deal?   All right.  Anyway, thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)     3:44 P.M. EDT

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California Governor Newsom launches abortion travel ban ad campaign in Alabama

By Dave Pehling

Updated on: April 22, 2024 / 1:41 PM PDT / CBS San Francisco

California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking aim at states considering abortion travel bans with the launch of a new ad campaign.

Newsom's Campaign for Democracy ad is set to air in Alabama starting Monday. The governor tweeted out the ad in a social media post Sunday morning.

Alabama’s abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women’s travel to receive abortion care. We cannot let them get away with this. pic.twitter.com/gHbYJYlEXk — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 21, 2024

The text with the video post reads, "Alabama's abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women's travel to receive abortion care. We cannot let them get away with this."

The 30-second commercial shows two nervous young women driving in a car passing a sign that reads "State Line 1 Mile." 

"We're almost there. You're gonna make it," the passenger tells the woman behind the wheel just before they hear a siren and are pulled over by a state trooper.

"Trump Republicans want to criminalize young Alabama women who travel for reproductive care," a voiceover says as the state trooper walks up to the car.

"Miss, I'm going to need you to step out of the vehicle and take a pregnancy test," the trooper says, waving a test stick in one hand. The next shot shows the driver leaning on the hood of her car as the trooper puts her in handcuffs.

"Stop them by taking action at RightToTravel.org ," the voiceover intones as the ad ends.

Alabama is currently weighing a bill that would make it a crime to help women travel outside the state in order to receive an abortion. The ad is part of a larger effort to combat travel bans across the United States. Newsom was behind a similar ad that ran in Tennessee.

The RightToTravel.org website says that those two states and Oklahoma are considering bills that ban minors from traveling out of state to get an abortion without parental consent, even if it's a case of incest or if there is abuse in the family.

It isn't the first action the governor has taken in the political battle over abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022. Two days after the ruling, Newsom partnered with the governors of Oregon and Washington to issue a multi-state commitment promising to defend access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives.

In September of that year, he launched a billboard campaign in seven of the most restrictive anti-abortion states urging women seeking the procedure to come to California for treatment. He also signed more than a dozen new abortion laws  protecting women's reproductive rights and ordered the state to end its contract with Walgreens after the pharmacy giant  indicated it would not sell an abortion pill by mail in some conservative-led states . 

• Gavin Newsom
• Roe v. Wade

Dave Pehling started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He moved to CBS to work as the station website's managing editor in 2015.

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When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, March 11, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, center right, and first lady Jill Biden, center left, walk off Air Force One, March 29, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, March 21, 2024, in Dallas, en route to Houston. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, March 13, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. en route to Milwaukee. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., March 11, 2024, to travel to Manchester, N.H. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., April 12, 2024, enroute to New Castle, Del. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, second from left, boards Air Force One, March 28, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is headed to New York for a fundraiser. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.

President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania , a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.

Here’s a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It’s not cheap to fly the president’s fleet.

The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn’t long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.

But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.

New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes , and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system,” a “self-defense system” and even “autonomous baggage loading.”

WHO PAYS FOR THE TRAVEL?

When the president flies for political purposes, the campaign is supposed to pay the bill. But during an election year, the line between governing and campaigning can be fuzzy.

For example, Biden held an official event Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he announced his proposal for higher tariffs on steel imported from China. The event, however, was a not-so-subtle opportunity for the president to rub shoulders with union members who are critical to his reelection, and he jabbed at Trump in his remarks. (At one point Biden joked that the former president was “busy right now,” a reference to the hush money trial that recently got underway in New York.)

It’s up to the White House counsel’s office to figure out what percentage of the president’s travels are campaign related. That determines how much the federal government should be reimbursed by the Biden campaign. Sometimes the calculations aren’t straightforward, such as when the White House adds an official event to an otherwise political trip.

Norm Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama, said both Republicans and Democrats have usually hewed closely to regulations.

“We had a set of rules on how to do the allocations,” he said. “They’re intricate, and we stuck to them.”

No matter what, taxpayers end up on the hook for most of the cost. Campaigns do not pay for all the Secret Service agents and the rest of the security apparatus. In fact, they usually only cover the cost of Air Force One passengers who are flying for explicitly political purposes — sort of like buying a ticket on a particularly exclusive private jet.

President Joe Biden, second from left, boards Air Force One, March 28, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

HOW MUCH HAS BIDEN PAID?

Biden’s campaign and his joint fundraising committee have been stockpiling travel cash in an escrow account maintained by the Democratic National Committee. From January 2023 until the end of last month, they deposited nearly $6.5 million.

Some of that money goes to general campaign logistics, such as staff expenses and advance work. The account is also used to reimburse the federal government for official aircraft used to transport the president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman when they travel for the reelection effort.

So far, not much money has found its way back to the U.S. Treasury. As of the latest data available, just $300,000 has been provided.

It’s safe to assume that Biden’s campaign will end up forking over much more than that once the campaign is over. Trump’s team reimbursed the federal government nearly $4.7 million for travel expenses during the 2020 race.

But Biden probably won’t have trouble covering his bills. His campaign and the DNC had more than $192 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Morning Rundown: Tucker Carlson and Trump blamed for Ukraine aid delay, National Enquirer admits making up Ted Cruz father story, loose horses run amok in London

Trump cancels campaign rally in North Carolina due to stormy weather

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump canceled his North Carolina rally Saturday evening at the last minute, citing stormy weather as the cause.

Trump, who had not yet arrived to the event, called by phone to announce that the event was off as thunder and rain began to darken the outdoor rally.

"There seems to be some thunder and lightning. It’s a pretty big storm, so if you don’t mind, I think we’re going to have to just do a rain check," Trump said over the speaker system.

Following Trump's announcement, loud groans and shouts of disappointment were heard from the crowd before their swift departure.

It was set to be Trump's first rally since the start of his criminal trial in Manhattan .

Trump told the crowd that he planned to reschedule the event for a later time, promising a "rain check."

"What we’ll do is we’ll make up for this very quickly at another time, but we’ll do it as quick as possible," Trump said. "I’m so sad. I’m in North Carolina right now."

The event was taking place outdoors near the Wilmington airport. Though heavy rainfall had not yet began at the time of the cancellation, lightning strikes became increasingly visible, fueling safety concerns.

"We want to keep everybody safe. It’s the most important thing. We want everybody there to be 100% safe," Trump said.

This rally was scheduled to be Trump's second campaign event in North Carolina — a key swing state crucial to both Trump and Biden's path to victory. Trump narrowly carried the state in 2020 by a margin less than 1.5%.

Trump was in court most of the week for jury selection in his criminal trial, where he is charged with  34 counts  of first-degree falsifying business records. Prosecutors allege that he falsified business records ahead of the 2016 election to hide payments to adult firm star Stormy Daniels.

Opening statements begin in the trial on Monday, and the trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Nnamdi Egwuonwu is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Jake Traylor is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.