For months, he’s been trying to outdo each other, boasting about each new huge cash infusion.
Washington:
Major political donors will gather in Donald Trump’s fiefdom of Palm Beach on Saturday for a fundraiser, an event his campaign hopes will mark the entry into a swaggering, high-stakes big-money race against Joe Biden new stage.
While spending huge amounts of campaign funds may not be something to brag about in some countries, it is often a source of pride for American political candidates.
Raising big money is as important as ever this year, with the Nov. 5 presidential election expected to be the most expensive election cycle in U.S. history.
The Republican former president and the Democratic incumbent have been trying to compliment each other for months, boasting about each new massive infusion of cash.
Biden, 81, upped the ante in late March when he headlined a major event in New York with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton by his side. His team said he earned at least $25 million, a record.
But Trump, 77, hopes to raise nearly double that amount, between $43 and $50 million, at Saturday night’s Florida event, according to US media reports.
The event will be held at the home of billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, not far from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“The response to our fundraising campaign has been overwhelming and we have raised more than $43 million to date. There has been tremendous support from a wide range of donors,” Paulson said in a statement to AFP.
Trump wrote on his Truth social platform: “The Biggest Fundraising Night Ever!!! Will double last week’s support for Biden at Radio City.”
– $814,600 sitting near Trump –
The guest list in Palm Beach will include businessmen Robert Bigelow, who made his fortune in the hotel industry before starting an aerospace research company, and John Catsimatidis The owner of a large grocery store chain. Both are major donors to the Republican Party.
Some of Trump’s former Republican rivals will also be in attendance, including Sen. Tim Scott, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The trio fully support Trump after suspending his presidential campaign and could seek jobs in his administration if he successfully returns to the White House.
According to the Washington Post, a seat at Trump’s dining room table sold for $814,600.
Such astronomical amounts of money are used to finance candidates’ travel expenses, aides’ salaries, commissioned polls, and, most expensive of all, the purchase of television ads.
Biden, who has portrayed himself as a product and champion of the middle class, was quick to criticize Trump’s fundraising efforts.
“While Trump raises money from a bunch of hedge fund billionaires, our grassroots campaign raised $187 million this quarter because of people like you,” he said on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday .
Biden currently has a larger campaign coffers than Trump as the former president faces mounting legal bills stemming from multiple criminal indictments.
Biden’s campaign was more than happy to point it out, referring to Trump as “The Broke Don” in a recent statement about the billionaire, who himself is known for using caustic epithets. famous.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
