Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign said a major fundraiser in Florida on Saturday raked in $50.5 million as the former president seeks to replenish diminished coffers for his rematch against Democrat Joe Biden.
The event, his biggest fundraiser yet, marks a much-needed boost for Trump, who has been routinely outraised by Biden and is in the midst of a financial squeeze due to ballooning lawyers’ fees and legal payouts from his criminal and civil court cases.
The dinner, hosted at billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson’s Palm Beach home, will allocate a portion of the money to be raised to a fundraising group that has spent tens of millions of dollars on Trump’s legal fees.
While Trump has struggled to get some major traditional Republican donors on board, he retains the support of some heavy hitters. According to the fundraiser invitation seen by Reuters, co-hosts on Saturday, for example, include hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter and conservative activist Rebekah, investor Scott Bessent, and casino mogul Phil Ruffin.
"People just want change"
“People are just wanting change. Rich people want it, poor people want it,” said Trump in comments ahead of the fundraiser, with his wife, Melania, who has largely stayed away from the campaign trail so far, by his side.
Biden spokesperson Ammar Moussa said on X that billionaires had flocked to Trump’s event due to tax preferences.“The ultra-wealthy are really mad at Joe Biden for making them pay their fair share,” he posted.
According to two sources, Paulson has been floated by Trump as a potential Treasury secretary. Trump spoke for roughly 45 minutes, touching on the economy and the southern border with Mexico, fundraiser George Glass, Trump’s former ambassador to Portugal, told Reuters.
“He also talked a lot about the unification of the party.”