Supporters of former President Donald Trump have made a strong financial show of support for his presidential campaign, outpacing President Joe Biden in the year’s second quarter.
Trump’s campaign reported a staggering $331 million in contributions, surpassing the $264 million raised by Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the same period, according to the AP.
The fundraising disparity erases Biden’s cash advantage and is likely to heighten concerns among his supporters, particularly following his problematic performance in last week’s presidential debate.
“Trump’s total includes $111.8 million that the campaign says it raised in June. That sum is less than the $127 million Biden reported raising last month, which includes more than $33 million on the day of the debate and in its aftermath,” the AP reported. “But Trump’s campaign reports that it ended the quarter with $284.9 million cash on hand, compared with $240 million reported by Biden.”
Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement: “President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month.”
They observed that the incumbent’s campaign spent significantly more on advertising, which yielded little net benefit, while Trump solidified his support with a highly focused campaign strategy. “This fundraising momentum is likely to grow even more as we head into a world-class convention and see the Democrats continue their circular firing squad in the aftermath of Biden’s debate collapse,” they added.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) has written an op-ed in which he predicts that former President Donald Trump will not win the election, and that American democracy will continue to function.
The Bangor Daily News published an article on Tuesday with the headline “Donald Trump is going to win the election and democracy will be just fine.” In the op-ed, Golden described President Joe Biden’s performance in last week’s debate as “poor.” However, he clarified that Trump will likely win in November because of the country’s economic troubles more than any other factor.
“After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee,” Golden wrote. “Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”
