Former US President Donald Trump collected a record amount of campaign donations at an event in Florida for his renewed candidacy.
Trump's team and the Republican National Committee, the national organizing committee of the Republican Party, announced in a joint statement that a good $50.5 million (46.6 million euros) in campaign donations were collected at an event at hedge fund manager John Paulson's estate in Palm Beach explanation with.
Donald Trump: “This is an incredible evening”
The result of a fundraising campaign for the re-election of the Democratic US President Joe Biden in New York at the end of March appears to be “hopeless,” the statement continued. According to Biden's campaign team, at least $25 million in donations were raised at the event with Biden's Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Biden's team celebrated the result as a record.
Trump supporter Paulson now emphasized that this result had been significantly exceeded at the fundraising party in his house. “This sold-out event raised more money than any single campaign fundraising event ever has,” Paulson said. “This overwhelming support shows enthusiasm for President Trump and his policies.”
Trump arrived at the event with his wife Melania. “This is an incredible evening even before it has begun,” said the former president. People wanted to take part in “making America great again. And that's what happened,” the 77-year-old added, referring to his campaign slogan.
Grocery retailers and Trump supporters
The guest list in Palm Beach included businessman Robert Bigelow, who made his fortune in the hotel industry, and grocery chain owner John Catsimatidis – both major Republican donors. Some of Trump's former intraparty rivals, such as Senator Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, were also invited.
According to the Washington Post, a seat at Trump's table cost guests $814,600. The proceeds will be used, among other things, to pay for Trump's campaign trips, his staff and election commercials on television. According to experts, the election campaign before the polls on November 5th will be more expensive than ever before in US history.
Hedge fund billionaire candidate?
Biden, who likes to portray himself as a representative of the middle class, criticized Trump's gigantic campaign fundraising event in advance. “While Trump collects money from a bunch of hedge fund billionaires, our grassroots campaign raised $187 million this quarter because of people like you,” the US Democrat wrote to his supporters on the online service X on Saturday. Biden's campaign coffers are currently better filled than Trump's because the Republican has to raise large sums of money due to various legal disputes.