Donald Trump’s political organization raised $82 million in first half of 2021
By Fredreka Schouten
Donald Trump’s political organization raised nearly $82 million during the first half of this year and entered July with $102 million in cash reserves — an unprecedented war chest at this stage in the election cycle for a former president, according to figures released by his team Saturday night.
The fundraising haul speaks to Trump’s continued ability to raise money from small-dollar donors online — as he trumpets baseless claims that election fraud led to his loss last year.
Trump’s team is slated to file details of his committees’ fundraising and spending later Saturday night with the Federal Election Commission.
Politico first reported Trump’s fundraising totals. Trump spokesman Jason Miller confirmed the figures to CNN.
Trump’s team said 3.2 million contributions flowed into the former president’s political committees during the first six months of the year.
In a statement, Trump once again complained of a “stolen” election and cited the donations as a sign that millions of Americans “share my outrage and want me to continue to fight for the truth.”
Trump’s fundraising apparatus includes two political action committees: Save America, a leadership PAC, and the Make America Great Again PAC, along with a separate joint fundraising committee. Leadership PACs have a $5,000 cap on donations, but federal rules impose few restrictions on how their contributions can be spent.
Trump has also endorsed super PAC Make America Great Again Action. The super PAC’s filing Saturday night shows it took in a little more than $5 million as of June 30. Individual donors include Don Ahern, a Nevada businessman who contributed $1 million, former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler at $250,000 and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at $100,000. Lindell has been on a crusade to advance claims that widespread fraud contributed to Trump’s defeat.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the amount of contributions to Trump’s political committees. It is 3.2 million contributions.
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