President Biden continued to expand his commanding financial advantage over former President Donald J. Trump, raising more than $90 million in March alongside the Democratic Party and affiliated committees, his campaign said.
According to his campaign, Mr. Biden, the party and their joint accounts have $192 million as of April – more than double what Mr. Trump reported in his coffers this week. Since Mr. Biden began his re-election campaign, 1.6 million Americans have donated money to him, his campaign says, reflecting a broad base of financial support.
These are “real investments that real Americans are making in this campaign,” said Rufus Gifford, the Biden campaign’s finance chairman.
Mr. Gifford suggested that the campaign’s strength in fundraising was more important than polls that have consistently shown Mr. Biden trailing Mr. Trump.
“You can’t lie about the numbers,” Mr. Gifford said. “They are not theoretical. This is not a random survey that only affects a specific point in time.”
The president’s numbers were fueled by a $26 million fundraising effort at a fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City attended by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. His campaign also said he raised $10 million in the 24 hours following his March 7 State of the Union address.
Mr. Trump has increased the pace of his own fundraising, hosting wealthy donors at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. His campaign said it and the Republican National Committee raised $65.6 million in March, Mr. Trump’s best fundraising month yet. Trump campaign aides say they plan to top Mr. Biden’s three-presidential party with a major fundraiser in Palm Beach on Saturday.
But Mr Biden’s massive march could take some of the wind out of Mr Trump’s sails.
“We have full momentum now, and I think you’ll continue to see it,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, a co-chair of the Biden campaign. “These are spectacular campaign results and a vote of confidence in the President and Vice President.”
Of course, having the most money is no guarantee of victory. And there are signs that Mr. Trump may expand his fundraising efforts further.
March was the first month in which Mr. Trump, now his party’s presumptive nominee, began raising money in joint accounts with the RNC. These accounts can accept far larger donations than Mr. Trump was allowed in the primaries.
Mr. Trump, the RNC and their joint accounts roughly doubled their available cash holdings by April. That figure now stands at $93.1 million, although it is still well below that of Mr. Biden and the Democrats.
Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.
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2024-04-06 12:00:06
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