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Donors to President Biden’s re-election campaign are feeling the heat after former President Trump’s recent fundraising hauls erased what was seemingly an insurmountable cash gap.
“There was the strategy of raising all this money on the front end so we could have this huge edge,” a major Biden donor, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Politico in a report Sunday. “The whole point of it was to come out with a sizable cash advantage and, you know, we’re now even and it’s June.… I have no other word for it other than ‘depression’ among Biden supporters.”
The comments come after Trump was the beneficiary of a wave of donations, outraising Biden and the Democratic National Committee in back-to-back months and essentially erasing what was once a massive cash-on-hand advantage for Biden.
TRUMP CATCHES UP TO BIDEN IN CASH DASH, BUT CAN HE SPEND THE MONEY IN TIME?
President Biden and former President Trump (Getty Images)
Another major Biden donor, who was also granted anonymity by Politico, described the new fundraising developments as “disappointing, but not surprising.”
Trump’s massive fundraising hauls come after he clinched the GOP nomination in early March, recording another major surge after being convicted on 34 felony counts in New York in May.
Trump’s haul also comes as Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc., a top super PAC backing the former president, received a massive $50 million donation from conservative banker Timothy Mellon.
Despite the massive Trump haul in recent months, Biden’s campaign reported rebounding fundraising numbers in May, a needed push after a weak showing in April. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg also gave a max donation of $1 million to the campaign last week, adding to the $19 million the former mayor had contributed to a pro-Biden super PAC.
Former President Trump speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
BIDEN HAS A MASSIVE MAY FUNDRAISING HAUL, BUT COMES UP FAR SHORT OF TRUMP
Biden’s campaign also raised $40 million last week after major fundraising events in Los Angeles and Northern Virginia, while another major fundraiser in Philadelphia scheduled for Monday is already sold out, Politico reported.
Nevertheless, the president finds himself behind in the money race for the first time in the general election campaign, with reports filed Thursday indicating that Trump and the Republican National Committee have $116.5 million in cash compared to the $91.6 million in the bank for Biden and the Democratic National Committee.
That new reality has some Democratic strategists spooked, especially with the numbers coming after the former president’s New York conviction.
President Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
“What Democrats should worry about is that it’s even within distance – that the money is going on at Trump’s side at such a clip,” Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic strategist, told Politico. “You would think a guy who’s convicted of crimes would be nowhere, but he’s everywhere financially. And that is a real problem for Democrats.
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“The challenger shouldn’t even be close on the money side, especially a guy who’s convicted of felonies,” Sheinkopf added. “How is this possible, is what the Democrats should be asking.… That’s what they should be worried about.”
The Biden and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.