According to federal documents released publicly Sunday night, former President Donald Trump’s activist parties pulled in $82 million in the first quarter of 2021 and have $102 million in cash.
The Financial Records have been Released!
The data, which were originally revealed to POLITICO, show how far Trump’s financial influence reaches. While the previous president is no longer in government and has been removed from social networking sites, he still has a sizable internet donor base that he may tap into if he decides to run again in 2024.
The situation is unprecedented: no previous president ever has amassed a nine-figure sum of money to fund a political effort. Trump’s political organizations drummed up followers with claims of vote-rigging in the first six months of the year to raise money; that’s money on a scale comparable to the GOP Central Committee and the party’s House and Senate campaign organizations.
Former officials of George W. Bush's administration have launched a super PAC supporting Democrat Joe Biden for president. The Trump campaign says the officials represent "the swamp." https://t.co/UAj4kJWIuW
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 2, 2020
Rescue America is a management PAC Trump created immediately after losing the 2020 election; his previous campaign bank was transformed into a PAC shortly thereafter.
Save Amerca took in the majority of the money, upwards of $62 million and ended June only with $90 million in its account, according to campaign funding filings submitted late Saturday evening.
There is a $5,000 contribution cap per contributor, per year for organizational PACs, but there are few constraints on how such organizations can invest their money. Thus far, Trump has spent almost nothing from the account, but he can use the money to pay for traveling, rallies, consultants, advertising campaigns, supporting politicians and other lobbying efforts.
Trump is sending out fundraising emails with urgent language about the Georgia runoffs, but the fine print shows 75% will go to his PAC (up to $5,000) then to the Trump campaign's "Recount Account" (up to $2,800), then to the RNC's legal fund.
Hilarious.https://t.co/PY75xF7U5S
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) December 15, 2020
The PAC cannot be used to finance an election candidacy
Trump also granted his support to a large PAC, Make America Great Again Action, early in the year, which has the ability to raise and use limitless funds. Former Trump political consultant Corey Lewandowski leads the group, which has previously spent significantly to support Trump-backed candidates in two Senate races.
According to a statement filed Saturday evening, the political action committee raised slightly over $5 million from its inception in early March until the end of June.
The Trump campaign has quietly updated the fine print on its fundraising emails to say that the first 60% of each donation will go to a new Trump PAC called Save America, and the rest will go to the RNC. https://t.co/qwDuoPcE24
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) November 10, 2020
After the Capitol incident on Jan. 6, Trump temporarily curtailed his fundraising efforts, but he restarted them this spring. Per a source familiar with the situation, most of what Trump has generated will be used for the run-up to the 2022 midterms, wherein the former leader is anticipated to play a key role.
Often at the cost of the Republican Party’s campaign groups, Trump has been adamant in asking his followers to donate to Save America. Early this year, at a speech to a conservative conference, Trump stated that Save America had been the “exclusive” option to donate to Trump-aligned politicians.
Trump’s lawyers filed desist papers to the party’s organizations in the weeks following, urging that they cease utilizing his image in financial calls, which the party disregarded.
