If you thought Donald Trump had an eye for a good deal, you may want to think again.
The Washington Post has a doozy of a story today involving the presumptive GOP nominee for president and his spending waaaayyyyy too much money on autographed Tim Tebow memorabilia at an auction from Tebow's Denver Broncos days a couple of years ago.
That part is bad enough, but it gets worse for Mr. Trump.
Trump won, eventually, with a bid of $12,000. Afterward, he posed with the helmet. His purchase made gossip-column news: a flourish of generosity, by a mogul with money to burn. "The Donald giveth, and The Donald payeth," wrote the Palm Beach Daily News. "Blessed be the name of The Donald."
But Trump didn't actually pay with his own money.
Instead, the Susan G. Komen organization — the breast-cancer nonprofit that hosted the party — got a $12,000 payment from another nonprofit , the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Trump himself sent no money. (In fact, a Komen spokesperson said, Trump has never given a personal gift of cash to the Komen organization.) He paid the bill with money from a charity he founded in 1987, but which is largely stocked with other people's money. Trump is the foundation's president. But, at the time of the auction, Trump had given none of his own money to the foundation for three years running.
Now, there are a couple of ways you can look at this. Yes, Trump spent a ridiculous amount of money on some Tim Tebow gear, but he didn't actually spend his own money. That last part could certainly be viewed as a smart decision. As long as spending money meant for a charity on sports memorabilia is okay on your moral compass. It appears to be such for the Donald.
Nobody in their right mind would spend $12,000 of their own money on Tebow gear.
The question of whether Trump violated any IRS rules becomes a tricky one and it may depend on where the Tebow gear is today, according to the Post.
Trump's camp has not responded to the Post's inquiry as to the Tebow gear's whereabouts. Shame.
Previously: Poll shows Pennsylvanians find Phillie Phanatic more qualified to be President than Donald Trump