President Trump raised a stunning $36 million within a week of launching his re-election campaign.
Trump’s haul is double the $18 million that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is leading the Democrat fundraising game, brought in during his entire first quarter.
Staggering number
If the fundraising is any indication, whichever Democrat faces off with Trump will have to do battle with an incumbent who is also backed by plenty of money and enthusiasm. Trump’s fundraising in a span of only seven days dwarfed that of his Democratic competitors by a long shot.
Trump brought in a massive $24.8 million within 24 hours of kicking off his re-election campaign at a rally in Orlando, Florida. By Wednesday, as Democrats took to the stage for their first primary debate, he had raised another $12 million.
While the Democrats tear each other to shreds over whether men can have abortions, Trump is kicking back and piling up an intimidating war chest. The president raked in $6 million for his joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory, at a single fundraiser with 225 donors on Tuesday at Trump International Hotel in Washington. The figure was just short of Joe Biden’s first day haul, $6.3 million.
Trump Victory raises and distributes money between the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.
The president’s strategists are banking on the advantage of a steady cash flow while the Democrats burn through their coffers squabbling for the nomination.
“This time next year, we hope to have a huge advantage of money on hand as the Democrats will just be selecting a nominee and will have spent all of their cash to win the nomination,” said Roy Bailey, a national finance co-chairman for Trump’s campaign.
Plenty of cash on hand
The president has been building a massive fundraising operation since entering the White House. Between his joint fundraising committees and his campaign, Trump has over $40 million on hand.
Going by party and candidate, the Republicans are outraising the Democrats by far. The Democrat with the most cash on hand, Sanders, has $22 million, roughly half Trump’s amount.
The Republican National Committee has $37 million on hand, compared with the Democratic National Committee’s $8 million. The DNC is also $6 million in debt.
While Trump rakes in big money, some are wondering how much longer the small-donor candidates, like Sanders and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), can keep at it. While several Democratic candidates have refused to accept money from big donors, some, namely Joe Biden, are cozying up with Wall Street.
“They’ll try to avoid it at first. But when it comes to the presidency, you need every dollar. If they don’t, they’re doing themselves a disservice,” said Matt Gorman, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“Democrats are going to be focused on each other. Republicans are going to be focused on them. That’s a huge difference,” Gorman added.
The Democrats are set to hold their second primary debate Thursday night.
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