Will Weissert, Associated Press
37 minutes ago
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Minnesota Republican Party Lincoln-Reagan Dinner held at the St. Paul River Center on Friday, May 17, 2024 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abby Parr)
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee announced Monday that they raised more than $51 million in April, significantly less than the $76 million that Donald Trump and the Republican Party reported raising in the same month. It didn't come close.
Biden's re-election campaign said it had $192 million in cash as of the end of last month, more than any other Democratic candidate in history. But that's roughly the same amount reported on March 30, at the end of the first quarter of this year, suggesting the campaign was running out of money as quickly as it was raising it.
April's total was also significantly down from March, when the president's campaign and DNC announced more than $90 million in donations.
While Mr. Biden and his party have routinely defeated his predecessor, Mr. Trump's April earnings were higher than the amount he received at billionaire investor John's home in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier in the month. The boost came after the campaign reported raising a record $50.5 million at an event with donors. Paulson.
The rally was Trump's response to a March event with former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at Radio City Music Hall in New York, where the Biden campaign raised a reported $26 million. . Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is planning a major fundraiser in Los Angeles next month, featuring Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
President Trump and the Republican Party reported raising more than $65.6 million in March and closing the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand.
The Biden campaign says its large military budget has allowed it to run a large-scale ad campaign in key states and work with the DNC and state parties to better mobilize potential supporters before the November election. This far exceeds President Trump's efforts on the ground.
Biden campaign chief Julie Chavez Rodriguez said April's gains include “investing in opening offices, hiring organizers, and communicating across battleground states to mobilize a coalition of voters who will decide this election.” It gave us the resources we needed to do that.”
The president's team currently has more than 150 offices working with Democratic Party officials and more than 500 liaison staff in battleground states.
But while Trump and the Republican Party built up a big fundraising advantage early in the 2020 cycle, they lost that election. Biden continues to face low approval ratings, with most voters saying they don't want to see a rematch of 2020, according to polls.
Still, Trump's personal finances have been strained recently by legal costs as he faces four criminal indictments, including an ongoing investigation into hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The Biden campaign announced Monday night that April was its strongest month ever for regular donors, who gave more than $5.5 million in the month alone. More than 225,000 donors have pledged to give each month, more than 1.5 times the amount so far in the 2020 cycle, according to the report.
Since Biden announced he would seek reelection in April 2023, his team says 96% of all donations have been less than $200, and 1.8 million donors have donated nearly $4.9 million to date. He said he is making a donation.
