NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign announced it raised $50.5 million Saturday, a staggering sum as his campaign struggles to catch up with President Joe Biden and the Party’s fundraising juggernaut Democrat.
The reported haul from the major-donor event in Palm Beach, Fla., home of billionaire investor John Paulson, sets a new fundraising record for a single event and is nearly double the $26 million that Biden’s campaign said it collected recently during a meeting with former presidents. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
“It is clearer than ever that we have the message, the operation and the money to propel President Trump to victory on November 5,” his campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
The event, billed as the “inaugural leadership dinner,” sends a signal of a resurgence in fundraising by Trump and the Republican Party, which has lagged behind Biden and the Democrats.
“It’s been an incredible night before it even started because people wanted to contribute to a cause to make America great again, and that’s what happened,” Trump briefly told reporters. reporters as he arrived at the event with his wife Melania Trump.
Trump and the Republican Party announced earlier in the week that they had raised more than $65.6 million in March and closed the month with $93.1 million. Biden and Democrats announced Saturday that they received more than $90 million last month and have more than $192 million on hand.
“While Donald Trump was busy awarding himself golf trophies at Mar-a-Lago and hobnobbing with billionaires, Joe Biden traveled the country connecting with voters and laying out his vision for growing our low-income economy. at the top and intermediately. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement, referring to Trump’s Florida residence.
Campaign fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission detailing donations from Saturday’s event are not expected until mid-July.
Trump initially struggled to attract big donors, particularly when he launched his campaign, and some lined up to support fellow Republicans who challenged him in the presidential primary. But as Trump racked up easy victories, leveled the field and became the party’s presumptive nominee, the Republican Party solidified behind him.
Saturday’s high-value event welcomed around 100 guests, including several billionaires. Contributions to the event will go to the Trump 47 Committee, according to the invitation, a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee, state Republican parties and Save America, a political action committee that pays the major part of Trump’s legal bills. In an unusual arrangement, the fundraising agreement stipulates that donations must first give the maximum allowed by law to his campaign and Save America before the RNC or state parties get a share.
Donors who gave the suggested $814,600 per person or $250,000 per person will see only $5,000 of their donation go to Save America, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cash-strapped RNC.
As Trump prepared in March to install a new, hand-picked leadership team at the RNC, including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, some RNC members feared that the committee’s money would be used to pay significant legal fees for Trump as he battles a number of courts. cases, including four criminal cases.
The fundraising deal does not direct RNC funds toward Trump’s legal bills. But when checks of any amount are issued to the combined campaign, the campaign and Save America are paid first by default.
Co-chairs of the fundraiser include Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas-based businessman who had supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign; John Catsimatidis, New York grocery billionaire; Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and director of the Small Business Administration when Trump was president; casino mogul Steve Wynn; and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, according to the invitation.
Guests were asked to contribute $814,600 per person as a “chairman” contributor, along with a seat at Trump’s table, or $250,000 per person as a “host committee” contributor. Both options come with a photo opportunity and a personalized copy of Trump’s coffee table. book featuring photographs from his administration, “Our Journey Together.”
Three of Trump’s former rivals for the Republican Party nomination — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — were scheduled to appear as “special guests.” .
Hours before the fundraiser, Trump complained on his social media site about the judge in his upcoming secret trial in New York and the former president once again compared himself to the late Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for years by the apartheid government in South Africa before he became the country’s leader.
“If this Partisan Hack wants to put me in the clink for speaking the open and obvious TRUTH, I will happily become a modern-day Nelson Mandela – that will be my GREAT HONOR,” Trump wrote.
In response, Biden campaign official Jasmine Harris said: “Imagine being so self-centered that you compare yourself to Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela in the span of just over a week: It’s Donald Trump for you.”
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Associated Press writer Stephany Matat in Palm Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.
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