(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump raised $331 million in the second quarter, a fundraising haul that leaves him with more cash on hand than President Joe Biden, a development likely to intensify Democratic anxiety about the incumbent’s campaign.
That amount, raised by Trump and the Republican National Committee, surpasses the $264 million Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised in the quarter. The campaign said it now has nearly $285 million cash on hand compared to the $240 million reported by Biden — a stunning reversal in a fundraising fight that saw the president’s war chest crush his rival’s for months.
“Winning this quarter brought us a cash on hand advantage,” said top Trump campaign officials Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles in a joint statement, jabbing at a “Biden burn rate that grows while yielding no tangible results for them.”
Trump outraised Biden in the months of April and May, the first time he won the monthly money race. But the presumptive Republican nominee fell short in June, with Biden raising $127 million to his $112 million.
Trump’s cash advantage, though, deals a blow to Biden at a time when his campaign is facing intense scrutiny from fellow Democrats in the wake of a calamitous debate that has spurred calls for him to step aside and let another candidate run.
Biden’s campaign has reacted angrily to calls from party members, lawmakers and media personalities calling for him to not seek reelection. Biden at fundraisers over the weekend sought to reassure donors that he is able to beat Trump and he plans to speak with Democratic governors on Wednesday.
His campaign on Monday released their June and quarterly fundraising totals in a bid to show strength and ease donor anxiety. Officials said that Biden had enjoyed his best fundraising month yet and that the reelection team managed to build up their cash even as they made investments in paid media and staffed offices in battleground states.
Earlier: Biden Touts $127 Million June Haul to Counter Post-Debate Angst
Biden’s campaign said it raised $38 million in the four days starting on June 27, the day of the debate. Trump’s campaign said it raised $8 million on the day of the event, but didn’t release updated totals.
Trump, for his part, has erased Biden’s fundraising advantage by ramping up appeals to deep-pocketed donors and harnessing Republican anger over his May 30 conviction in a Manhattan trial for hiding hush-money payments. The campaign said Trump raised $52.8 million online in the 24 hours after the verdict making him the first former US president in history found guilty of a felony.
Trump’s financial situation was weaker earlier in the campaign, when his coffers were drained by legal challenges and a contested primary that drew more than a dozen challengers.
Some of the party’s biggest donors have opened their checkbooks for Trump. Crypto billionaires Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss each made donations in Bitcoin worth $844,600 to the Trump 47 Committee, which raises money for his campaign and the Republican Party. Billionaire Miriam Adelson of Las Vegas Sands and Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman both donated to it in May.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
The post Trump Raises $331 Million in Quarter as War Chest Now Tops Biden appeared first on Bloomberg.
