JOHN YANG:

And they seem to boost Mr. Trump's mood, getting him out of Washington and in front of enthusiastic crowds.

Tonight, here at the Trump International Hotel, just five blocks away from the White House, the first big fund-raiser of the 2020 campaign, it's benefiting both the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. The top ticket is $35,000 a head.

The choice of venue highlights the flow of campaign cash into Trump Organization businesses, a practice, which is legal, of his first run that continues in his bid for reelection. The Trump campaign declined a request to comment for this story.

But deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner told the Associated Press that they chose the Trump Hotel because it's a premier and convenient location. The president has walked away from day-to-day management of his hotels, golf courses and other businesses, placing all his assets into a trust, of which he's the sole beneficiary.

Ethics lawyer Kenneth Gross says he's never seen a candidate pay so much money to his own businesses.

KENNETH GROSS, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates: What we saw during the campaign is the campaign committee paying Trump facilities, whether it's the Trump Hotel or Mar-a-Lago, or renting space from the Trump Tower in New York, which it did for the campaign headquarters, buying Trump steaks, Trump vodka, Trump wine, Trump ice.

All this is money from the campaign that eventually goes to fatten the wallets of Trump, Inc. I don't know of anything illegal about having a campaign do a campaign visit at your own owned facility, as long as it's arms-length. But I think, from an appearance standpoint, it's not great.