Former President Donald Trump's campaign and the RNC raised more than $141 million in May, surpassing the campaign of President Joe Biden and the Democrats, who said they raised a total of $85 million.
The Biden campaign said it entered June with more than $212 million in cash on hand, as the month ended with a flood of donations after the criminal conviction of the former president.
The total amount Trump had on hand during the same period is not yet known, as some of his committees do not have to disclose what they raised until July 15. But based on what was filed, he and the RNC have at least $170 million. cash on hand as they continue to catch up with the Biden campaign's financial resources.
After Trump found guilty on May 30, with 34 felonies in New York State for falsifying business records, his campaign launched a fundraising effort painting Trump as a political prisoner, galvanizing his base and racking up millions in small-dollar donations .
The Trump campaign and RNC May numbers cannot be confirmed until next month.
According to FEC filings Thursday, the Trump campaign raised more than $75.3 million and the RNC raised more than $30.7 million in May, with the remaining money to be reported in July. MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, raised more than $65 million in May.
While Trump's conviction has boosted donations, his legal bills have also continued to rise.
Save America PAC, the political action committee that has paid most of Trump's legal bills, spent more than $3.6 million on its legal fees in May, and as of early 2023, the legal bills of Trump have surpassed 72 million, including more than 23 million so far. this year, a CBS News analysis shows.
The main donors
Biden and Trump's outside groups benefited in that period from an influx of tens of millions of dollars from some of their top individual donors.
Billionaire donor Timothy Mellon, the largest donor to PACs supporting Trump and an independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and heir to the Mellon family empire, gave $50 million to MAGA Inc., the main super PAC supporting Trump the day after his conviction.
Mike Bloomberg, who spent about $1 billion on his own 2020 campaign, gave $20 million to help Biden this cycle, according to a familiar source. Almost all of that, $19 million, went to the main pro-Biden super PAC “FF PAC,” also known as Future Forward USA, on May 30, the day Trump was convicted. About one million, the maximum of $929,600, went to the “Biden Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising committee for the Biden campaign and other Democratic committees.
The Biden campaign says its May collection was the second-strongest month for grassroots donations of $200 or less, which since the president launched his re-election effort, account for 96% of his donations .
Mr. Biden has enjoyed a clear advantage over Trump in publicity and battleground state personnel. The “Biden for President” committee has also spent at least $86 million on ads through Thursday, including part of a $50 million ad campaign it announced for the month of June alone. On Thursday, the campaign announced its 1,000th battleground staff and more than 200 field offices.
“Trump couldn't match our battlefield infrastructure if he tried. While the Trump team desperately tries to spin their lack of infrastructure as 'strategic,' the bottom line is that Donald Trump can't regain the time he's wasted, and invisible campaigns don't win,” said Biden-Harris battleground state director Dan Kanninen.
The week of Trump's conviction, both Trump and Mr. Biden spent more on digital advertising than in any other week this year, according to data from FWIW, a newsletter that tracks political ad spending.
Trump's numerous civil and criminal cases have boosted his fundraising over the past year. His most successful fundraising days, before his conviction, were the day he went on trial in his “hush money” case and the day after his mugshot was released in a separate criminal case. The day after the conviction he overcame both, with his campaign saying so grossed $52.8 million within 24 hours of the conviction.
Monthly fundraising is one area where Mr. Biden has maintained an advantage, but while he still maintains a cash-on-hand advantage, Mr. Trump has been catching up. Trump's fundraising efforts surpassed Biden for the first time in April, when he raised $25 million more than the president.
Trump's campaign has been capitalizing on the conviction, buying ads characterizing him as a “political prisoner” and the trial as “hidden.” Mr. Biden has also used the conviction in fundraising, calling Trump a convicted felon in recent TV commercials and in their latest fundraiser.
“For the first time in the history of the United States, a former president is a convicted felon,” Mr. Biden said Wednesday at an event with former President Bill Clinton. “But as disturbing as it is, all the more damning is the all-out assault Trump is waging on our justice system.”
Meanwhile, Trump's WinRed fundraising page urges donors to contribute $100 if they think he “did nothing wrong” and says, “YOUR SUPPORT IS THE ONLY THING BETWEEN US AND TOTAL TYRANNY!”
Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.
