Trump tops Biden in monthly fundraising for first time of 2024 campaign
Donald Trump’s campaign and his Republican allies outpaced President Joe Biden in fundraising for April, marking the first instance in the 2024 campaign where the former president surpassed the Democratic incumbent in monthly donations.
The Trump campaign, along with the Republican National Committee, raised $76 million in April, significantly more than the $51 million raised by Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and other joint fundraising efforts, according to the campaigns and Federal Election Commission filings submitted Monday.
Trump managed to out-raise Biden despite spending much of April on trial in a New York courtroom. As anticipated, Trump’s status as the presumptive Republican nominee allowed him to consolidate fundraising efforts with the RNC.
Biden’s April fundraising fell short of the $90 million his campaign raised in March, which included a lucrative event hosted by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and was slightly less than the $53 million raised in February by Biden and his joint committees.
Trump’s April fundraising received a significant boost from a Palm Beach, Florida, event at the home of billionaire investor John Paulson, which Reuters reported brought in a record-setting $50.5 million.
Despite this, Biden maintains a substantial cash-on-hand advantage. At the end of April, Biden’s campaign had $84.5 million available, with a combined total of $192 million when including other fundraising committees. The Trump campaign reported having $49 million in cash on hand.
For months, the Biden campaign has highlighted its fundraising lead over Trump, who has faced substantial legal fees from multiple criminal and civil court cases. The Biden team has emphasized their edge in fundraising and campaign organization, despite most polls showing Biden trailing Trump.
However, the April figures provided the Trump campaign with an opportunity to criticize Biden.
“The only people left in America who support Crooked Joe Biden are out-of-touch billionaires in Hollywood, and it turns out even they are done giving to a failing campaign,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, calling Trump’s fundraising haul “especially remarkable” given his daily court appearances.
Biden’s campaign ended April with slightly less cash on hand than the $85 million it had at the beginning of the month, reflecting a significant increase in spending over the past two months on television ads and expanded staff. The campaign reported spending $25.2 million in April, following expenditures of $29.2 million in March and $6 million in February.
Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa emphasized Biden’s continued cash-on-hand advantage and accused Trump of “selling out Americans to big corporations and billionaires” to fund his campaign.
In June, Biden will receive additional support from Hollywood allies when actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts, along with Obama, are set to host a high-dollar fundraiser in Los Angeles, according to NBC News.
