Less than two days after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, the former president’s campaign has already started aggressively fundraising off the near tragedy.
As Joe Biden and the Democrats and Republicans all declare a time of national unity and lowering the ideological volume in the wake of the shooting, multiple emails and texts went out Sunday and today proclaiming “Fear Not. I Am Donald Trump And I Will Make America Great Again.” Utilizing the near iconic picture of a fist pumping Trump and the Stars & Stripes in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the pitches tell supporters their “contribution will benefit Trump National Committee JFC.
MAGA supporters are encouraged to donate sums running from $24 to the individual contribution maximum of $3,300. On the donor site, the Trump campaign have a running ticker revealing what “MAGA Patriots” and “Elite Supporters” like Chris H and Beverly V. have shelled out.
Representatives for the Trump campaign did not respond to request for comment on the fundraising efforts. Additionally, it should be noted, the Trump campaign this weekend also put together a GoFundMe effort “for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt” in Butler, PA. As of Monday morning, just over $4.2 million has been raised
Having said that, the latest fundraising drive by the GOP nominee-to-be is very similar to the moves the Trump campaign made in the hours following his conviction in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to keep a potential sex scandal from derailing his 2016 presidential campaign. The campaign raised nearly $55 million in the 24 hours after the conviction. Trump also sold merchandise and conducted fundraising in August last year off his mug shot in the Georgia case over election interference.
Once seen as various swords of Damocles hanging over Trump, the former Celebrity Apprentice has seen most of his legal difficulties turn to dust in the past few weeks. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting the occupant of the Oval Office sweeping immunity from the law in acts conducted in official presidential business was a big win that has already held up a July 11 scheduled sentencing of the ex-POTUS. Add to that, the slow pace of the Peach State case and the move today by a Trump appointed federal judge dismissing the case of a post-presidency Trump mishandling and withholding the classified documents — which literally had pictures of boxes of papers on a Mar-A-Lago stage and bathroom – and once worries of convictions and more slowing down the Trump train seem to be gone, at least for now.
Seeking the White House for the third time, Trump holds a small but consistent lead over his 2020 rival and now incumbent Biden, with a stronger electoral college lead. Also, the Trump campaign holds a small lead over Biden-Harris in money in the bank. As of the end of May, the Republican had $116.6 million on hand, while the Democrats had $91.6 million.
As the Republican National Convention opens today, and Trump’s promise to Fox News to unveil his VP pick (with junior Ohio senator and Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson apparently tied in the pole position), the Biden-Harris campaign restarted their own fundraising efforts after going silent for about 48 hours after the shooting in the Keystone State.
Scrambling to move past calls that the 81-year-old Biden step aside after his disastrous June 27 debate performance on CNN against Trump, the Biden-Harris ask had a distinctly different tone and temperament that what their Republican rivals were putting out there.
“Every gesture – no matter how big or small – can make a difference,” says a fundraising letter asking for a minimum $25 donation sent out Monday from the Democratic ticket. “Taking a moment to share a positive message or even giving someone a hug can change the trajectory of their day. Today, we’re asking you to do something small for our campaign – but it is something that will have a huge impact.”
In the fallout of Biden’s debate debacle and further gaffes putting the spotlight on his age, a number of prominent Hollywood backers of the reelection campaign like Damon Lindelof and Abagail Disney have called for a halt on donations until there is a new nominee. A donor drought that could reveal a big drop in the Biden campaigns fortune the next time fundraising totals are made public later this summer.
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