Melania Trump’s stylist raked in more than $100,000 from Donald Trump’s super PAC in the last six months of 2023, while the former president wasted money on legal fees.
Herve Pierre Braillard received eight installments of $18,000 and one of $6,000 labeled “Strategy Consulting,” totaling $132,000, according to the PAC’s filing with the Federal Election Commission.
The fashion designer has earned $371,000 from Trump’s Save America leadership PAC as of April 2022.
Melania Trump with Herve Pierre in October 2017 when she donated her inaugural dress to the Smithsonian’s First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
It is unclear what Pierre does for the Trump family. Melania Trump has not appeared on the campaign trail with Donald Trump because he is seeking a second term.
She did attend a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in December. She lost her mother in January. Her appearance at her mother’s funeral on January 18 marks the last time Melania was seen in public.
When Melania Trump was first lady, he helped her pick out clothes. The French-American designer, who worked for Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta, originally designed Trump’s ivory inauguration dress.
But his duties expanded to helping her choose clothes for her official duties, sometimes including his own designs. He designed the now infamous great white hate she wore to welcome President Emmanuel Macron to the White House for a state visit in 2018.
Melania Trump’s office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Her spokesperson told Women’s Wear Daily last year that “Mr. Pierre is a world famous artist. His work extends into many different areas, not just fashion design. His expertise is used for special projects and events.’
Pierre simply said he was working on “upcoming projects” but did not specify what they were.
“Like any first lady, there is life after the White House, which includes many aspects besides fashion. I am fortunate to have worked in prestigious houses, designing (costumes) for ballets and more recently working in home decor. There are a lot of upcoming projects in this post-White House (stage),” Pierre told the outlet.
Pierre designed the large white hat that Melania Trump wore in April 2018 when she and then-President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House for a state visit
Melania Trump speaks during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives building in December
The former president, meanwhile, is hemorrhaging money from his PAC in the form of legal fees.
Donald Trump’s Save America Leadership PAC and the Make America Great Again PAC spent $56 million on legal fees last year, a figure that includes $30 million in the last half of the year.
The committees have paid at least 50 law firms for legal services in 2023, including those representing him in the criminal cases he faces in New York, Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia, as well as the civil fraud case brought against him. it
Trump is fighting charges related to Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington, D.C., election-related charges in Georgia, a classified documents case in Florida and a criminal case in Manhattan involving hush-hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
In these cases, teams of Trump lawyers are filing briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking immunity from prosecution in the Jan. 6 case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Trump’s latest problem was a jury’s finding that he was liable for $83 million in damages for defaming E. Jean Caroll.
Herve Pierre designed the ivory dress that Melania Trump wore to Donald Trump’s inaugural ball in January 2017
Pierre designed Melania Trump’s inaugural dress and was also her stylist
The cases have regularly taken Trump off the campaign trail — though he has also used the unfavorable statements and charges against him in repeated fundraising pitches to small-dollar contributors across the country.
Trump still has plenty of cash in the bank and the ability to raise more of it, but the large legal expenses show how his legal interests are taking up a large portion of his cash reserves.
Hervé Pierre spoke Fashion magazine in 2017, saying Melania Trump was “adamant” that he is more than a stylist.
“My role is to dress the First Lady and advise her – I am not a stylist; I am an advisor and she is adamant about that,” says Hervé. ‘As a free woman, who is told what to wear? It’s a conversation, a collaboration. Without intellectualizing, my advice is respectful and meaningful.’