NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump and the Republican Party said Wednesday they raised more than $65.6 million in March, when the former president became presumptive nominee and installed new party leadership.
Trump and the Republican National Committee ended the month with $93.1 million in their campaign accounts, a significant increase as they try to to catch up on fundraising of President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
“Our campaign, working with the RNC, has been steadily increasing our fundraising efforts, and our numbers in March are a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump from voters across the spectrum,” Susie Wiles, a senior advisor to the Trump campaign, said in a statement. statement. “Republicans may not benefit from the largesse of vested interests in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, but President Trump is proud to be supported by donations from voters who are the backbone of this nation, which will fuel Republicans up and down in the elections.”
Biden and the Democratic National Committee have not released fundraising figures for March, but their political operation said they brought in $53 million in February and ended the month with $155 million in cash. Last week, Biden held a fundraiser in New York with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, which the campaign said raised a record $26 million.
Biden has been fundraising with his party since launching his re-election campaign, while Trump first had to clear the field of contenders.
“Donald Trump has spent his first month as the presumptive Republican nominee holed up in the back room of Mar-a-Lago with billionaire special interests as he continues to struggle with the kind of grassroots donors who fuel our campaign,” a Biden campaign spokesman said Amar Musa, referring to Trump’s Florida residence. “Trump is spending the money he has on everything but reaching voters — and it’s clear he doesn’t have the infrastructure, donor base or broad appeal to win this election.”
Before merging with the RNC, Trump’s campaign and his Save America political action committee, two key parts of his political operation, raised just $15.9 million in February and ended the month with more than $37 million. Save America pays the majority of Trump’s legal bills in his various lawsuits, including four criminal cases.
Trump named new leaders at the RNC last month, including daughter-in-law Lara Trump, as his latest primary challenger. Nikki Haley, dropped out. He also began fundraising with the party, allowing the joint operation to use higher contribution limits. A candidate can accept a maximum donation of $3,300, but a joint fundraising agreement allows a donor to sign a check for just over $800,000.
“President Donald J. Trump has once again created a fundraising powerhouse among Republicans. Although he has been the presumptive nominee for the GOP for less than a month, the RNC and the Trump campaign are one unified operation and are focused on winning,” said incoming RNC Chairman Michael Whatley.
Trump will host a charity fundraiser Saturday in Palm Beach, Florida. The the campaign aims to raise $33 million, headlining the Biden event.
of Trump new fundraising agreement with the RNC directs donations so the maximum goes to his campaign and Save America first before the RNC and state parties get cuts. Donors at the Palm Beach event who give the proposed $814,600 per person as a “chairman” contributor, or $250,000 per person, will have just $5,000 of their donation go to Save America, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the party committee .
