May was the best fundraising month so far for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, according to the two organizations.
On June 3, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee announced they raised $141 million during May. More than a third of that money was raised online within 24 hours after a New York jury issued multiple felony convictions against former President Donald Trump.
A release from the campaign said more than 2 million donations were made during the month. A quarter of those donors gave their first gift of 2024 to the Trump campaign in May.
In a statement, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and co-Chair Lara Trump called the New York trial and other legal challenges the former president is facing “a sham attempt to keep President Trump away from voters.”
“Unfortunately for Democrats, their rigged political operation has backfired in a historic way, and Republicans are in a stronger position than [ever] to FIRE Crooked Joe Biden and Make America Great Again by electing President Trump on November 5,” Mr. Whatley and Ms. Trump said in a release.
Moreover, the campaign and the RNC announced that “organizations supporting President Trump” raised an additional $150 million during the month. It was not immediately clear which organizations raised the money
The fundraising claims cannot be independently verified yet. President Trump’s principal campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc., and the RNC will not issue their May disclosures until the end of June. The Federal Election Commission’s deadline for monthly financial statements is June 20.
The most recent reports for both committees were issued on May 20.
Then, Trump For President 2024 reported it raised about $9.4 million in April and had about $49.1 million in cash on hand, according to FEC records. The RNC told the FEC it brought in about $32 million in April and ended that month with about $39 million in cash on hand.
So far, the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign haven’t released their May fundraising figures.
However, when President Joe Biden’s principal campaign committee, Biden For President, announced fundraising on May 20, it said it raised $51 million in April and had access to $192 million in cash on hand. It was not clear if the committee was labeling the Democratic National Committee’s April fundraising as its own.
Nevertheless, if the Trump campaign and its closest allies did raise nearly $300 million in May, the money would go a long way toward closing the financial gap between President Biden and President Trump.
For both candidates, the full scope of their campaign’s finances was not clear on May 20. A number of committees, including deep-pocketed joint fundraising committees supporting both President Biden and President Trump, did not report then and will not issue a disclosure statement until July 15.
Based on the information presented by the May filings, the Biden campaign held a significant cash advantage over the Trump campaign at the end of April.
In a statement issued on May 30, Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, agreed with the Republican Party’s assessment that a verdict against him will not preclude President Trump from running for president.
“Today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality,” Mr. Tyler said in a statement. “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”
Both President Biden and President Trump are expected to formally receive their respective nominations at their parties’ conventions. The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee from July 15 to July 18, and the Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.
