by Ben Whedon
Facing an ongoing criminal trial that has largely narrow his ability to campaign in person, former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee managed to significantly outfund President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee in April.
Including Trump and the RNC it raised $76 million last month, including $50.5 million raised at a single event in Florida. In turn, President Joe Biden and the DNC managed to raise a total of $51 million during the same period.
April’s numbers marked an improvement in Trump’s and the RNC’s combined fundraising efforts In March, $65.6 million. In March, the Biden campaign and the DNC raised $90 million. Biden’s improved performance this month was a highlight in New York that netted him $26 million.
April fundraising made headlines, in part because of a reversal in the March momentum in which Biden outperformed Trump, but also because the Trump campaign could do it with so little campaigning capacity for the former president. The campaign itself highlighted Trump’s legal proceedings and the limitations of his candidacy in the context of fundraising touts.
“The only people in America who support Crooked Joe Biden are out-of-touch Hollywood billionaires, and it turns out that even they are fed up with giving to a failed campaign,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “President Trump and the RNC significantly outperformed Biden and the Democrats in April thanks to the support of millions of small donors in every state across the country.”
“President Trump’s fundraising for Biden is particularly remarkable considering that he has spent the last four weeks locked in a courtroom for nearly nine hours a day fighting against Biden’s trial,” she continued. “President Trump’s fundraising prowess and increasingly dominant position in the polls proves three things: the momentum is 100% on President Trump’s side, Americans see the truth about Joe Biden’s New York witch hunt trial and they want President Trump Returned to office, the White House will make America great again.
Trump is stuck in New York
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in connection with a 2016 payment his then-lawyer Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels. The the defense rested on Tuesday without calling Trump as a witness, and the trial is in its final stages. Judge Juan Merchan required Trump to attend the hearing, making some exceptions, such as allowing Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.
During the proceedings, Trump tried to make the best of his situation and chose this option petite scale performances in Manhattan, where he appealed to traditionally Democratic constituencies, including a stop at a Harlem bodega and an early morning visit to a construction site. However, he managed to organize a few conventional rallies on his weekends off, attracting a sizeable crowd to an event this month in Wildwood, New Jerseyalthough no funds from this particular gathering were part of his April haul.
What was in the $76 million?
The extensive majority of Trump’s fundraising came from a single event in early April that featured his arrival $50.5 million. The fundraiser took place in Palm Beach, Florida, at the investor’s home John Paulson.
The inaugural leadership dinner was co-chaired by businessman Robert Gibelow and grocery tycoon John Catsimatidis. There was an event expect a raise approximately $43 million.
But earlier this month, senior advisers to the Trump campaign Chris LaCivit and Susie Wiles said that “Not only is President Donald J. Trump winning every battleground state, but we are also marshalling the resources necessary to secure victory in November. With half of the funds raised coming from small dollar donors, it is clear that our base is energized.”
“More than 97 percent of April fundraising came from small dollar donors as President Trump’s message resonates with everyday Americans suffering under Biden’s failed Bidenomics agenda, the carnage at the border, and his pro-China policies that put American workers and families last. “Off-poll fundraising numbers provide evidence that President Trump’s election is gaining tremendous momentum in November.” RNC spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
The April totals sparked jubilation among Republicans, and the RNC seemed to suggest that the totals represented public opposition to Trump’s ongoing trial.
“Americans oppose the Democrats’ bill. Make America Great Again!” the GOP account published.
As of April 30, the campaign had approximately $49 million in its coffers.
What is Biden’s situation?
Biden’s gain of $51 million was a notable drop from March’s gain of about $90 million, including the DNC. The March total also included, among others: Transportation for $26 million from an event at Radio City Music Hall with former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
The campaign also claimed so $192 million in cash on hand at the end of April. Of that, $84 million was in his campaign account compared to $49 in Trump’s account, Politico reported.
“April’s catch reflects strong, consistent citizen enthusiasm. “Trump’s operation continues to suck money and lags behind our growing and aggressive campaign, with no ground game and no apparent interest in talking to voters they need to win,” said Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager.
A surprise, that’s for sure
Trump’s April lead appears to be largely due to fundraising for John Paulson. But the final numbers for Trump and the RNC appear to contrast sharply with previous statements, even by Trump advisers during the campaign.
During a call with donors in delayed March, Trump advisers seemed to downplay it the prospect of competing financially with Biden, with one saying: “[w]We will never get it dollar for dollar with Biden.”
A second adviser on the call emphasized the grassroots nature of the campaign’s fundraising base, saying, “I prefer it because of every one of those voices.”
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Ben Whedon joined the Just the News team in March 2022 after previously working as an editor and national security reporter at Breitbart News.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Daniel Scavino Jr..
