Donald Trump raises money for campaign and to help pay legal bills

Veteran investor John Paulson called his allies on Wall Street to argue that it’s time to help Donald Trump become president again.

“My message is that we need to come together and support President Trump. There is only one candidate who can lead us in the right direction,” he told CNBC on Monday.

“It is important to put personal differences aside and focus on what is important: protecting our borders, immigration, crime, education, the economy, trade and foreign policy,” Paulson said.

The hedge fund founder is hosting a spectacular fundraising dinner for Trump on April 6 at his Palm Beach, Florida, home. But Paulson isn’t the only Republican kingmaker privately gearing up to help Trump.

Republican megadonor Rebekah Mercer was spotted earlier this month at a private party with other Trump allies in Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter. Her presence raised eyebrows as she and her father, Robert Mercer, have publicly distanced themselves from the former president since 2018.

Still, friends of the Mercers say they expect the two Republican donors to play a crucial role for Trump this year with possible future fundraisers and major donations to pro-Trump political action committees. Representatives for the Mercers did not respond to a request for comment.

These efforts are the latest signs of a larger project afoot: Trump and his inner circle are assembling a small but wealthy group of financiers to help him raise money both for his campaign and for a political action committee that pays his legal bills.

“It’s the old cast coming together to get across the finish line,” said an adviser to one of Trump’s consolidators. This advisor and others were granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

Many of these “old hands” have been business leaders who have been close to Trump for years. They were also among the first business executives to support his successful 2016 presidential campaign. At the time, many traditional Republican Party donors were hesitant to align themselves with the brash New York billionaire.

At least 50 people are expected to attend the April dinner at Paulson’s, according to people familiar with the matter.

Other Trump allied co-chairs for the fundraising dinner include Rebekah Mercer, her father Robert Mercer, Chicago Cubs co-owner and former RNC finance chairman Todd Ricketts, former Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, l Former Trump Small Business Administration administrator Linda McMahon and Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Woody Johnson, also the owner of the New York Jets, according to an invitation obtained by NBC News.

Ticket prices start at $250,000 per person and go up to $814,600 per guest, according to the invitation.

If 50 people go to the Paulson event and each pay the maximum price of $814,600, the Trump 47 Committee could raise at least $40 million from this fundraiser alone.

Paulson would not say how much the event raised or how many people will attend. “The response from donors has been overwhelmingly positive. There is strong support at all income levels,” he told CNBC.

Money raised on April 6 will go to the Trump 47 Committee, a newly created joint fundraising committee that benefits Trump’s presidential campaign, his Save America PAC that helps pay Trump’s legal bills, and the National Committee republican.

Potential donors are being offered the idea that the fundraiser at Paulson’s is an “inaugural” event, and that others are planned in the future and will feature some of the same hosts, said a reception co-chair. ‘april.

“We want to come together as a community and galvanize each other over the next six to eight months,” another co-chair said.

The national finance director for Trump’s presidential campaign, Meredith O’Rourke, has also been courting donors, according to an adviser to one of the event’s co-chairs.

As for the money to pay Trump’s legal fees, at least some people at the Paulson event didn’t seem to care.

“I know some of them want to help on this,” said a person close to the attendees, when asked whether donors would be hesitant to fund a PAC that would pay Trump’s legal fees.

“No one should be prosecuted because of their political views,” Paulson told CNBC, when asked if he cared whether the money he raised would go toward saving America.

This nascent alliance of major Republican fundraising players could come just in time for Trump.

With eight months until the 2024 presidential election, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee faces a barrage of financial headwinds.

The first is his struggle to raise more money for his campaign. Trump’s campaign lagged behind President Joe Biden’s in fundraising in February, according to the most recent campaign finance reports. Biden’s campaign raised just over $21 million last month, while Trump raised about $10 million over the same period.

Then there’s the skepticism Trump faces from several key Republican donors. Many of them fear he will use their money to pay his own legal fees that are higher than those of the Republican Party as a whole.

Finally, there are Trump’s legal sagas. The former president faces dozens of charges in federal and state cases. His political action committees responded by spending tens of millions of dollars in donor contributions to pay private lawyers defending Trump.

Trump also opposes several massive sanctions in civil cases. He recently posted $91 million bail to appeal the verdict in his rape defamation case. On Monday, Trump is expected to reveal whether he can meet today’s deadline to post bail of more than $450 million in an unrelated civil fraud case.

Save America spent about $5.6 million on legal fees in February alone, more than the total collected by the committee that month, according to Federal Election Commission records. As March approached, the PAC reported about $4 million available.

If the Paulson dinner were to raise $40 million, $330,000 would be shared with Trump’s primary and general election accounts. Another $250,000 would go to Save America.

The rest would be split between the RNC and nearly two dozen state parties. The RNC would receive $16.5 million, with the rest going to state groups.

RNC co-chair Lara Trump and other Republican leaders insisted the committee would not pay Trump’s legal fees.

But this appears to represent a change for Trump’s daughter-in-law. Before taking her new position at the RNC, she suggested the committee should pay Trump’s legal fees.