NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign raised President Joe Biden more than $60 million last month, according to federal documents made public Thursday detailing the explosion in Republican fundraising fueled by Trump’s convictions .
Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a solid $85 million in May and reported $212 million in the bank at the end of the month. The strong showing doesn’t include about $40 million raised by Biden and his top surrogates in recent days — or a separate $20 million donation from the former New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg for pro-Biden groups.
Still, Trump’s fundraising appeared to eclipse Biden’s for at least a month.
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee said they raised as much as $141 million in May, including tens of millions donated immediately after Trump was convicted of 34 crimes in the New York hush-money case. At the same time, billionaire Timothy Mellon donated a staggering $50 million to a pro-Trump super PAC the day after Trump’s guilty verdict, according to documents made public Thursday.
Trump’s campaign declined to report how much money was in the bank in late May, prompting Biden’s campaign to question whether the groups were still spending heavily to cover Trump’s legal costs.
“Our strong and consistent fundraising program grew by millions of people in May, a clear sign of strong and growing enthusiasm for the President and Vice President every month,” said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “The money we continue to raise matters, and it helps the campaign build an operation that is invested in reaching and winning over the voters who will decide this election – a stark contrast to Trump’s PR stunts and photo ops that he has run. pretends it’s a campaign. .
All told, the numbers in the latest Federal Election Commission filings suggest Democrats can still maintain a cash advantage in the 2024 presidential election. But nearly four months before Election Day, Trump’s side is closing the gap — if at all is not the case.
The new fundraising figures also underscore the extent to which the rules of presidential politics are being rewritten in the Trump era.
At almost any other time in American history, a presidential candidate would have been forced to abandon an election after being convicted of dozens of crimes. But in 2024, Trump’s guilty verdict has instead led to a fundraising boom, allowing his team to ramp up advertising and change the state’s infrastructure just as voters begin to pay more attention to the election.
Backed by Mellon’s huge donation, the pro-Trump super PAC known as MAGA Inc. $3.5 million in television advertising that would begin on Thursday, July 3 in Georgia and Pennsylvania, according to media tracking company AdImpact. In total, the group reported revenues of $68.8 million for May, ending the month with $93.7 million in the bank.
Mellon is one of the biggest donors to Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., although his support for Kennedy may be fading.
Kennedy raised $2.6 million last month and ended May with $6.4 million in the bank. The vast majority of his total fundraising came from running mate Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer. The Kennedy campaign spent more this month than it took in.
The numbers reported Thursday don’t include anything raised in June, including about $40 million raised by Biden and his top surrogates in recent days. The vast majority came from a glitzy fundraiser last Saturday with movie stars and former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles, which raised more than $30 million. First lady Jill Biden has also been engaged in her own personal fundraising campaign that has raised $1.5 million.
Meanwhile, Biden also received a big boost from Bloomberg.
The billionaire philanthropist, who briefly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, sent $19 million to the pro-Biden group Future Forward and also sent the legal maximum of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, according to a person is familiar with the transfers.
Bloomberg also formally endorsed Biden on Thursday. “I stood with Joe Biden in 2020 and I’m proud to do so again,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
The Biden campaign said the vast majority of its latest fundraising came from grassroots donors such as nurses, teachers and retirees. In total, the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee attracted more than three million new donors last month, according to a statement from the campaign.
“While Trump leaches out his billionaire sycophants, our campaign represents the votes of America, and we are honored by their support as we race toward November,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison.
___
AP writer Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed.
