based on my recollection .... yes
he stated many times he did not need nor want contributions since he was running a low money campaign ... he thought it smart and media pundits noticed more than once how he accomplished actually getting the limelight without any money ... media savvy i suppose
as an extension of that please notice conservatives routinely say outlandish things (i sometimes think they do that for some contest of the most outlandish things one can say ... the prize? .... column inches in the media or they are just idiots) .... Mr Trump has captured that paradigm with gusto ..... whether he believes it or not, it got column inches
now the following would be a con .... he is ostensibly running for office while having the ulterior motive of arranging a "mainstream" audience for steve bannon and the alt-right
i am not sure i can argue he is conning anyone or only people who are willing to be conned are ever conned
