Rare sight of Melania ‘raises dollars 50 million in one night’
Hedge fund bosses and casino moguls were among guests who handed over $250,000 for a seat at the former president’s table
Donald Trump boasted yesterday (Sunday) that he had raised dollars 50.5 million in a single night through a Palm Beach fundraiser as he seeks to make up ground on President Biden’s cash advantage in their rematch for the White House.
Hedge fund bosses and casino moguls were among the dinner guests who contributed up to dollars 814,600 each, or at least dollars 250,000, for a seat at the same table as the former president, who was joined by his wife Melania in a rare campaign appearance. The windfall is believed to be the biggest single-event election fundraiser on record.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic national committee raised dollars 90 million last month, easily outpacing the dollars 66 million brought in by Trump and the Republican Party. Biden’s total included a boost of dollars 26 million from his biggest single event, which took place in New York and featured the former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Yesterday (Sunday) Danielle Alvarez, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, crowed: “It took three Democrat presidents to raise dollars 25 million and one president to raise over dollars 50 million – Donald J Trump.”
Trump gave a 45-minute speech about increasing domestic energy production, securing the southern border and extending his 2017 tax cuts, which are due to expire at the end of 2025. “Success will be our only revenge,” he said.
About a hundred highrolling guests attended the fundraiser at the home of the billionaire hedge fund founder John Paulson, including the casino owner Steve Wynn, the aerospace company founder Robert Bigelow and Trump’s former commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross.
Co-hosts included the hedge fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, a conservative activist, the investor Scott Bessent and the casino mogul Phil Ruffin, the New York grocery billionaire John Catsimatidis, and Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who was head of the Small Business Administration while Trump was president.
Paulson and Bessent are believed to be under consideration by Trump for the role of Treasury secretary.
“Biggest night in Fund Raising of ALL TIME!!! Will double up the Biden number of last week at Radio City. People are desperate for change. They want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said on his Truth Social site.
Ammar Moussa, a Biden spokesman, said on Twitter/X that billionaires had shown up at Trump’s event seeking tax advantages. “The ultra-wealthy are really mad at Joe Biden for making them pay their fair share,” he added.
Trump certainly needs the billionaire class to step up: he is raising less money than Biden from small donors, and he is also spending tens of millions of dollars on his various legal cases, using donated cash.
At the end of March, Trump and the Republicans had dollars 93.1 million on hand while Biden and the Democrats had dollars 192 million.
However, more money does not guarantee victory: Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 after she had raised dollars 769.9 million, outstripping his dollars 433.4 million.
Trump appears to be struggling to motivate some of his past backers, among them the casino owner Miriam Adelson. She and her late husband Sheldon Adelson were the biggest contributors to his 2020 campaign, donating dollars 90 million.
The Times
More Coverage
German spy planes to join UK hunt for Putin’s subs
German spy planes will take off from Scotland next year to help protect the North Atlantic following concerns about Russian submarines close to the UK.
What’s next for Hamas? Guerrilla tactics by patient fighters
The death of Yahya Sinwar seems to have ‘inspired’ militants. Now they are planning a war of attrition against Israel, returning to small-unit tactics to tire Jerusalem into a ceasefire deal.