Tag Archive for: fundraising

Vance Takes Center Stage In White House Push To Protect GOP Majority

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Vice President JD Vance flew to Bangor, Maine, on May 14 for what was billed as an Anti-Fraud Task Force rally, but the trip quickly revealed its true purpose.

Vance shouted out former GOP Gov. Paul LePage, who is mounting a congressional bid, and extended an olive branch to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a frequent thorn in the administration’s side who faces reelection in 2026. As rallygoers waved “Protecting Taxpayer Dollars” signs, Vance made his closing argument: keep the Trump administration in power so the fraud-fighting can continue.

Maine was just the latest example of a pattern that has defined his vice presidency.

In the last five months, Vance has traveled to eight states for 11 campaign-type events. This excludes a trip like Maine, where the vice president was there technically on official business. Since taking over as finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Vance has headlined 25 fundraisers, an RNC official told the Daily Caller.

Outside of the president, Vance owns 2026. He’s the GOP’s top surrogate, its best closer and most valuable weapon on the trail.

“He has a star power that, outside of the president, is unmatched,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told the Caller. “People love him, they love what he has to say. He’s a very good campaigner, a very good speaker and motivator. He just has the ability to move people.”

The White House political team has mapped out competitive districts and is deploying Vance accordingly, an official told the Caller. His team has been coordinating with the White House for months, and Vance has made clear he’ll go wherever he’s needed.

Those stops are expected to multiply as Labor Day approaches, though his travel will pause briefly when Usha Vance gives birth to their fourth child in the coming weeks.

“There’s a realization that he’s a younger face who articulates domestic issues in a way that resonates and complements the president’s style,” one source close to the administration told the Caller.

Vance isn’t alone on the trail. Cabinet officials have fanned out across the same battleground states, often far more frequently than the VP himself.

In Georgia, where former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat is up for grabs, Vance has visited once; Cabinet officials have made 14 trips since January.

In North Carolina, where former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley is running for Senate, Vance has stopped once to the Cabinet’s 11. In Vance’s home state of Ohio, where Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor, and a tight Senate race between former Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Jon Husted is taking shape, Cabinet officials have shown up 19 times to his two. The pattern holds across Iowa (8-1), Wisconsin (11-1), and Michigan (15-1).

The numbers reflect a deliberate division of labor. The White House political team told Vance they needed him to make a push for Rep. Zach Nunn in Iowa, a source close to the political operation told the Caller, and the VP agreed. He goes where the ask is sharpest.

New York illustrates the scale: Cabinet officials have visited 27 times, Vance twice. In Texas, where Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton faces Democrat state Sen. James Talarico, Cabinet has been there 49 times, the president once, Vance twice.

And joining the Cabinet officials and the VP on the campaign trail will be Trump, who will be making some stops as Labor Day approaches, a White House official told the Caller.

On the fundraising side, Vance has been just as formidable. He has helped raise more than $60 million for the RNC since taking over as finance chair, according to The New York Times. The RNC ended May with $125.5 million cash on hand, raising $14.8 million in the month alone.

Gruters credits Vance’s personal touch.

“People that we’ve had come to some of our events have told me that they’ve been some of the best political events they’ve ever had, the best opportunity they’ve ever had to spend quality time with the VP,” he told the Caller. “It’s really opened up the opportunity for us to break out and raise these record-setting amounts.”

None of this can happen, however, without whispers of 2028. Trump loves to poll those around him on the question of his successor: Vance or Rubio. Every trail stop the VP makes adds more to the conversation.

Sources close to Vance insist the midterm push is not a calculated audition, and the VP has gone out of his way to signal as much. Earlier this year, he turned down political trips to Iowa specifically because he didn’t want them perceived as 2028 groundwork.

For Vance’s part, he has repeatedly said he is not thinking about 2028, but the job ahead.

“I have no doubt that the president of the United States is going to be very supportive of anything that I ultimately decide to do,” Vance told CBS News. “But we really just haven’t talked about what that thing will be.”

He added that he is not “sitting around figuring out whether I’m going to run for president.

But the overlap is hard to ignore.

“It also serves the heir apparent well to hit hotly contested areas of the country ahead of his own run,” one source close to the administration told the Caller. “In many ways, it’s a win-win.”

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House Correspondent

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Donald Trump Approaches Inauguration With Record-Setting Fundraising, Détente With Corporate Donors

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President-elect Donald Trump is approaching his second inauguration with record-setting fundraising, amassing over $200 million since Election Day, The New York Times reported.

Trump’s allies have raised over $200 million to fund his political operation, inauguration and his legally mandated presidential library, The New York Times reported, citing four sources involved in the fundraising. Some of the donors sending funds for the inaugural reportedly include Amazon, Meta, Pfizer, OpenAI and numerous cryptocurrency companies.

With $150 million already raised — and more expected to follow — the haul will top Trump’s $107 million reported from his 2017 inauguration, according to The New York Times. Trump has reportedly told people throughout the Christmas season that he’s raised over $200 million since the election; his team also noted to the outlet how many people are eager to donate since his win against the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Among the fundraisers, lobbyist David Tamasi dismissed the claim corporations were donating in order to avoid Trump’s perceived wrath. It is possible, however, some donors are providing funds in order to make amends for previously being distant from Trump, Tamasi told the outlet.

“It is a time-honored D.C. tradition that corporations are enthusiastically embracing this cycle in all manners, largely because they were on the sidelines during previous Trump cycles,” Tamasi told the outlet. “They no longer have to hedge their political bets.”

Inaugural committees are allowed to accept unlimited donations from corporations and individuals but are not allowed to accept anything from foreign nationals, The New York Times noted. Many corporations reportedly offer inaugural funds representing their willingness to work with an incoming administration.

Some major contributions include $1 million from ride-share company Uber and cryptocurrency entities such as XRP and Robinhood, who pledged $5 million and $2 million, respectively, the outlet reported.

“We look forward to working with President Trump and the incoming administration to drive positive change in the markets, be an active voice for customers and pursue our mission to democratize finance for all,” Robinhood’s Vice President of Global Government and External Affairs, Mary Elizabeth Taylor, said in a statement to the outlet.

AUTHOR

Fiona McLoughlin

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: Amazon Gives $1,000,000 To Trump Inaugural Fund

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump Campaign Says It Raised Well Over $100 Million In August

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Former President Donald Trump raised about $130 million in August, his campaign announced Wednesday night.

Trump’s fundraising numbers are down slightly from the nearly $140 million the former president brought in during July, when his campaign initiated a fundraising push days after he was shot by a failed assassin on July 13. The Harris campaign has not released its August fundraising figures, however, it likely eclipsed Trump as Harris campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon released a memo on August 25 where she claimed the vice president had raised $540 million since President Joe Biden dropped out on July 21, including $82 million during the week of the Democratic National Convention.

“With Republicans united and a growing number of Independents and disaffected Democrats crossing partisan lines, the Trump-Vance campaign has momentum for the final stretch of the race,” Trump Campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes said in the press release announcing the fundraising numbers. “These fundraising numbers from August are a reflection of that movement and will propel President Trump’s America First movement back to the White House so we can undo the terrible failures of Harris and Biden.”

Contrary to the Trump campaign’s enthusiasm, GOP leaders are raising the alarm behind closed doors and publicly about how a large financial disparity has emerged between the two parties. Liberals have commanding ad spending leads in almost all competitive Senate races and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the primary super PAC aimed at electing Republicans to the House, is $70 million behind its Democratic counterpart in ad spending, according to Politico.

“The only thing preventing us from having a great night in November is the massive financial disparity our party currently faces,” National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director Jason Thielman previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are on a trajectory to win the majority, but unless something changes drastically in the next six weeks, we will lose winnable seats.”

State-wide Republican parties in a number of states with close legislative elections in November, like Arizona and Wisconsin, have also been outraised and outspent by their Democratic counterparts.

Before Democrats swapped Biden for Harris, the Trump campaign had overcome his Democratic rival’s cash advantage, Politico reported. The Trump campaign claims to have had $295 million in cash on hand at the end of August.

The average donation to Trump was $56, with 98% of donations being under $200, according to the campaign.

Trump is no stranger to fighting campaigns at a financial disadvantage, defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite only having half as much money, and narrowly losing to Biden in 2020 despite a 3 to 1 cash disadvantage heading into the final month of the election.

“Team Trump has the money, the message, the momentum and a candidate who works harder than anyone in politics,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the DCNF.

AUTHOR

Robert Schmad

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

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‘Greatest Fundraising Bonanza Ever’: Andrew Cuomo Points To Effect Trump’s New York Trial Has On 2024 Race

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Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told comedian Bill Maher late Friday that presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial “should have never been brought” and described the effect it has had on the race.

Trump’s campaign finished May with $116.6 million raised — $25 million more than President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, Politico reported. Cuomo said it was “scary” that more than half of New Yorkers believe “the justice system is politicized,” prompting the “Real Time” host to note Trump’s subsequent surge in financial support.

“You know what’s scary about this from my point of view?” Cuomo began. “The trials in New York. There’s Florida, Georgia and two in New York. The two trials in New York: New Yorkers said, 66% said the justice system is politicized. And there’s nobody in New York who likes Trump. And, still, 66% said the justice system is politicized. That’s why I think he’s not paying the same price for these verdicts because they believe it is political. And you wanna talk about a threat to democracy? When you have this country believing you’re playing politics with the justice system, and you’re trying to put people in jail or convict them for political reasons, then we have a real problem.”

“I saw two stories in the paper today about the election. One is that Biden has slightly pulled ahead — although not in the states where it’s gonna matter — but nationally, which was news to me. And then the second one was fundraising,” Maher said. “The trial in New York, the one he got convicted for, was the greatest fundraising bonanza ever. He was lagging behind Biden and now he’s pulled quite a bit ahead. That trial was the greatest reason people had to send their checks for five, 10, 25, whatever dollars to Donald Trump.”

Maher then said that “it’s a Hobson’s choice always” when it comes to Trump because “he’s always guilty.” Hobson’s choice refers to “the option of taking either what is available or nothing at all; no choice,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The comedian then warned about prosecuting Trump because the “repercussions might be worse.”

Trump took aim at Maher on social media Saturday morning, calling the “Real Time” host “highly overrated.” He also urged Republicans to “stop using” the liberal comedian as “a reference point.”

“Bill Maher, the highly overrated ‘Star’ of the ratings challenged show with the Fake, Loud and Obnoxious laughter pouring out of your set every few seconds, even when nothing was said that was funny (which is most of the time!), suffers from a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS. Republicans should stop using him as a reference point, his show is dead!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

AUTHOR

JULIANNA FRIEMAN

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Biden’s One Big Election Advantage Is Quickly Being Erased

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Through the bad polls, disruptive protests and fitness questions, President Joe Biden has continued to have one big advantage over the Trump campaign — but it appears to be fading fast.

While Biden has battled concerns about his age and backlash from the Israel-Hamas war, the president and the Democratic National Committee continued to outraise their Republican counterparts by millions of dollars. As Donald Trump dominated Biden both nationally and across key swing state polls, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Trump campaign struggled with finances.

But over the last two months, the RNC and Trump campaign have started to make a dent in the cash advantage Biden once had. As Trump world continues to announce record-breaking fundraising statistics, one of Biden’s few apparent edges in a tight election could fall by the wayside, strategists told the Daily Caller.

“Democrats will keep up. It’s not going to be a blowout, money wise, but they expected Trump to lose the ability to raise money by charging him with these over the top prosecutions,” Mark R. Weaver, a GOP strategist, told the Caller.

“They didn’t realize that the liquid they were throwing on the fire was not water, but gasoline,” he added.

Trump’s fundraising blitz started as the GOP primary wrapped up. The RNC and the campaign raised $76 million in the month of April, about $25 more than Biden and the DNC. It was the first time the Trump camp surpassed their competitors in monthly fundraising.

The month prior, the Biden campaign and the DNC brought in $90 million, while Trump and the RNC brought in $65.6 million. In total, Trump’s camp had $93.1 million cash on hand while Biden’s team had $192 million at the end of March.

May is already shaping up to be an even bigger month for the Trump campaign than before. After a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records, the former president’s campaign donation site crashed from an influx of visitors. The campaign later announced that 24 hours after the verdict, it had raised $54.8 million. For the total month, the campaign recently announced it had raised about $141 million. FEC filings revealing fundraising totals for both campaigns in the month of May are not yet available.

The fundraising surge lines up with the unification of the Trump campaign with the RNC. In the spring, Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara and allied operative Michael Whatley became co-chairs of the party organization. Key Trump campaign officials also took positions with the RNC.

“This was a much needed shot in the arm, and although I anticipate Biden and the entire Democratic apparatus having more money, just like they’ve had going back to 2016, Trump needs enough to make sure that they can run the kind of ground game and turnout effort that he needs to win,” Scott Jennings,  a longtime GOP adviser in Kentucky and veteran of numerous campaigns, told the Caller.

Jennings added that a lot of Trump’s support comes from mid- and low-propensity voters and unregistered Americans who are less reliable to turn out on election day.

“When I think about what Trump would do with a massive cash infusion, my mind immediately goes to, oh, he’s going to put this into a ground game to ensure that these mid- to low-propensity voters actually come out. And if he’s able to do that and jack up the turnout among that audience, he’s going to win,” he added.

Trump’s court cases, Weaver told the Caller, have had the opposite impact Democrats and his opponents hoped they would.

“It looked as though [Trump] might get beat in the primaries by Ron DeSantis or someone else, but then the Biden White House and its allies started bringing bogus and over the top charges against Donald Trump, and it angered a lot of people in the middle who see America as a place where the rule of law and due process matter,” Weaver said.

“Biden and his minions thought that they were politically drowning Donald Trump. But what they’re really doing is lifting the tide of his support in such a way that the Biden campaign will start to fall behind in the fundraising game,” Weaver continued, adding that the new influx of funds could cause issues for Biden.

MAGA Inc., the super PAC backing Trump, announced that it raised $70 million during the month of May, the New York Times reported. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said it had a record breaking day following Trump’s verdict, bringing in $300,000. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) announced that it raised $360,000 after the former president’s guilty conviction.

While Trump’s new loads of cash are noticeable, Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told the Caller that he does not think it would impact the race, because the former president already gets a ton of advertising at virtually no cost.

“I’m inclined to say no for a couple of reasons. One is when there was a big fundraising gap, I didn’t think it mattered much, because Donald Trump makes his own media and he never has to pay for it. If Donald Trump didn’t spend a cent on his presidential campaign for the next five months, I doubt it would make much difference. The reality is, you know, better or worse, he manufactures his own media,” Bannon told the Caller.

Bannon added that he didn’t think most voters, though maybe a small number in swing states, would pay much attention to the ads that the campaigns are poised to spend their cash on. Jennings believes that the cash won’t all go to ads, but instead toward elevating the campaign’s ground game.

“I don’t think they’re worried about it,” Leslie Marshall, Democratic strategist, told the Caller about the Biden campaign. “I think they expected it. If you notice, Biden doesn’t seem to be phased by polls. Biden doesn’t seem to be phased and that worked well for him in 2020.”

Biden’s positioning in the polls now, however, is worse than at the same time in 2020.

While the Biden campaign has not revealed what it raised in May, other affiliated groups are still working to give the president a fundraising edge. Climate Power and Future Forward USA Action, two nonprofit organizations, are planning to spend $50 million on ads that tout Biden’s actions throughout his administration, the Washington Post reported.

Following the Trump verdict, a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed that a majority of registered voters, 67%, think that Trump’s guilty conviction will have no effect on how they’ll vote in the 2024 election. Seventeen percent of Americans said it would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

With five months until the election and variables to change, Jennings told the Caller the latest fundraising news should be encouraging for Republican voters.

“It really ought to give Republicans some optimism about what they’re going to be able to accomplish beyond just your normal TV ads, but with the sort of campaign, mechanics, and infrastructure that’ll be used to turnout all these voters,” Jennings told the Caller.

AUTHOR

REAGAN REESE

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.