Donald Trump’s fundraising surge, which threatens to overwhelm President Joe Biden’s carefully built-up monetary lead, was largely driven by a explosion of online donations immediately following his felony convictions.
Biden, who had no major rivals in the primary or an army of lawyers to pay, has amassed a war chest of $212 million, a record amount for a Democratic candidate. Biden made jokes about “Broke Don” as his campaign and the Democratic National Committee touted their historic fundraising in comparison to the cash-strapped Republican Party.
Trump worked to dispatch a crowded Republican primary field and used donations to pay legal bills for a series of civil and criminal court cases looming over him.while Biden did not campaign seriously until recently and built up his coffers. Trump also dismantled the leadership of the Republican National Committee and installed her daughter-in-law as president, cutting staff at a time when her Democratic counterpart was hiring in battleground states.
However, his 34-felony conviction for falsifying business records to cover up hush payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ignited his donors. The first former president convicted of crimes raised $52.8 million in just the 24 hours after the jury’s decision. Trump has also been increasing his appeal to big Republican donors and business leaders, hosting major fundraisers with Wall Street executives and other billionaires.
Trump has been closing the financial gap with Biden since winning the nomination in March. He raised $283 million, $57 million more than Biden.
Campaigns and party committees had a Thursday deadline to file reports on their May fundraising and spending with the Federal Election Commission. Trump released his fundraising numbers earlier this month. But self-reported totals don’t offer a complete picture of the race for money. Amounts do not include donations to joint fundraising committees, which file with the FEC on July 15..
Biden’s early financial advantage allowed his campaign and the Democratic National Committee to open offices and hire staff in battleground states and go on the air early, ensuring that, Despite shaky poll numbers, he had more than enough cash to run a strong campaign against Trump.
Now Trump not only has a lead in the polls, but he is also leading the fundraising race while closing the gap in available cash. Although he did not disclose the total cash on hand, his campaign and the RNC informed the FEC that they had $171 million in the bank, or US$41 million less than Biden. At the end of March, the most recent period for which complete figures are available, Biden’s lead was about $100 million.
Trump’s prospects were further boosted by a one-time $50 million contribution to Make America Great Again Inc., the campaign’s preferred super PAC, from billionaire Timothy Mellon, the day after Trump’s conviction. MAGA Inc. has reserved $51.3 million of air time as of July, and other groups are also supporting Trump.
“This changes the psychological battle,” said David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University. With the polls closed in an election that could be decided by fewer than 200,000 voters in seven states, Biden could point to his large cash cushion as an ace in the hole to attract his supporters. “That’s starting to go away now,” Schultz said.
Trump’s fundraising numbers cover his campaign and the Republican Partymeaning Mellon’s large donation is not included.
Biden still has plenty of money and his war chest continues to grow, increasing by $20 million in May. His campaign has spent $72.5 million on advertising as of Thursday, according to AdImpactwhile The Trump campaign has not yet released any ads for the general election. Biden’s campaign is spending $50 million on an ad campaign that will run through the end of June that will address Trump’s legal problems, with most of the ads running before the debate between the two men on Thursday.
Independent Democratic and progressive organizations have pledged to spend more than $1 billion to help Biden stay in the White House, and big donors continue to write big checks to support him. His allied super political action committee, Future Forward PAC, he got $19 million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and $5 million from hedge fund manager George Soros’ Democracy PAC.
Future Forward has set aside $129 million for an advertising campaign in battleground states that will begin Labor Day weekend, the traditional start of the general election campaign.. The spending seeks to put Biden ahead in enough of the seven swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) to win a second term. Trump had a 4-point lead in the latest Bloomberg News-Morning Consult poll.
A new political nonprofit called Securing American Greatness has already spent $10.3 million on ads attacking Biden in Pennsylvania and Georgia. The group, which is not required to disclose its donors, will not reveal how much it raised until 2025, long after the election.
