Trump fundraising surges, outraising Biden by $25 million, even as trial limits his campaigning

Amid an ongoing criminal trial that has largely limited his ability to campaign in-person, former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee managed to out-fundraise President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee by a hefty margin in April.

Collectively, Trump and the RNC raised $76 million last month, including $50.5 million raised at a single event in Florida. By contrast, President Joe Biden and the DNC managed to raise a combined $51 million over the same period.

The April numbers marked an improvement for the Trump-RNC fundraising efforts after raking in a combined $65.6 million in March. The Biden campaign and DNC raised $90 million in March. Bolstering Biden’s numbers that month was a NYC event that saw him bring in $26 million.

The April fundraising hauls drew headlines, in part due to the reversal of the March dynamic in which Biden outraised Trump, but also due to the ability of the Trump campaign to accomplish the feat with so little opportunity for the former president to campaign. The campaign itself highlighted Trump’s legal proceedings and the constraints on his candidacy when touting the fundraising haul.

"The only people left in America who support Crooked Joe Biden are out-of-touch billionaires in Hollywood, and it turns out even they are done giving to a failing campaign,” Trump Campaign Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “President Trump and the RNC significantly outraised Biden and the Democrats in the month of April, thanks to the support of millions of small-dollar donors from every state across the country.”

“President Trump's fundraising haul over Biden is especially remarkable when you consider he has been confined to a courtroom for nearly 9 hours a day over the past four weeks fighting against Biden's Trial,” she continued. “President Trump's fundraising prowess and his increasingly dominant position in the polls proves three things -- the momentum is 100% on President Trump's side, Americans see the truth about Joe Biden's witch-hunt trial in New York, and they want President Trump back in the White House to Make America Great Again."

Trump stuck in New York

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. The defense rested on Tuesday without calling Trump as a witness and the trial is in its final stages. Judge Juan Merchan required Trump to attend the proceedings, making some exceptions such as to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.

Amid the proceedings, Trump has attempted to make the most of his situation and opted for small-scale appearances within Manhattan in which he addressed traditionally Democratic constituencies, such as a stop at a Harlem bodega and an early morning visit to a construction site. Free on weekends, however, he did nonetheless manage to hold several conventional rallies, drawing a sizable crowd this month to an event in Wildwood, N.J., though any funds from that particular gathering were not part of his April haul.

What was in the $76 million?

The clear majority of Trump’s fundraising haul came from a single event in early April that saw him bring in $50.5 million. The fundraiser took place at the Palm Beach, Fla., home of investor John Paulson.

The Inaugural Leadership Dinner was co-chaired by businessman Robert Gibelow and grocery store mogul John Catsimatidis. The event had been expected to raise roughly $43 million.

Earlier this month, however, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said that "President Donald J. Trump is not only winning across every battleground state, but we are raising the resources necessary to deliver a victory in November. With half of funds raised coming from small dollar donors, it is clear that our base is energized." 

“Over 97% of April’s fundraising came from small dollar donors because President Trump’s message resonates with the everyday American suffering from the failed Bidenomics agenda, Biden’s border bloodbath, and his pro-China policies that put American workers and families last. The fundraising numbers are proof beyond the polls that there is red-hot momentum to elect President Trump in November.” RNC Spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

The April totals generated celebration from Republicans, with the RNC appearing to suggest that the sums signified public opposition to Trump’s ongoing trial.

“The American people are taking a stand against the Democrats’ lawfare. Make America Great Again!” the GOP account posted.

The campaign reported roughly $49 million in cash on hand as of April 30.

What is Biden’s situation?

Biden’s haul of $51 million was a noticeable decline from his March haul of roughly $90 million, including the DNC. The March total, moreover, included a $26 million haul from an event at the Radio City Music Hall with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The campaign also said it had $192 million in cash-on-hand at the end of April. Of that, $84 million was in his campaign account compared to the $49 in Trump’s, Politico reported.

“April’s haul reflects strong, consistent grassroots enthusiasm. Trump’s operation continues to burn through cash and lag behind our growing and aggressive campaign, with no ground game and no demonstrable interest in talking to the voters they need to win,” said Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez.

A surprise, to be sure

Much of Trump’s April edge appears to have come from the John Paulson fundraiser. But the final totals for Trump and the RNC appear to stand in sharp contrast with earlier pronouncements, even from Trump’s own campaign advisors.

During a late March donor call, Trump advisors appeared to downplay the prospect of competing with Biden financially, with one saying "[w]e're never gonna be able to raise dollar-for-dollar with Biden.”

A second advisor on the call highlighted the grassroots nature of the campaign’s fundraising base, saying “I'd much rather have that because each one of those votes.”

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X.