Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Donald Trump would like you to know he has raised a yuuuge amount of money this week

Yuuuge.
Yuuuge.
Yuuuge.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

So maybe Trump’s campaign isn’t so poor after all.

Following the release of May FEC filings that revealed the campaign only had $1.3 million in the bank, or 40 times less than Hillary Clinton, CNN has reported that Trump and his joint RNC fundraising committee say they have raised at least $11 million since Tuesday morning.

The sudden windfall seems to be in response to a fundraising pitch, one of the very first sent out by the campaign since Trump became the party’s presumptive nominee.

The $11 million mark does not include the $2 million Trump pledged to match in contributions, and exceeds the $3 million number that Trump’s son reported in a email sent Wednesday to campaign supporters.

Yesterday my father sent his first ever fundraising email for the campaign and predicted it would shatter fundraising records. Yesterday’s email was a massive success. My father offered to match up to $2 million personally, $1 for every $1 donated, and in less than 12 hours we surpassed that goal. All because of supporters like you.

As reflected in the email, the Trump campaign appears to be insinuating that Trump hadn’t begun fundraising in earnest when the FEC filings were compiled. The CNN report corroborates this, noting that Trump has done “virtually no small-dollar fundraising” since launching his campaign a year ago.

In addition, it’s also quite possible that news of the campaign’s financial woes earlier this week worked to galvanize donors.

Whatever their cause, there’s no doubt these latest numbers will do quite a bit to ease top Republicans’ worries about Trump’s ability to fundraise.


The political science that predicted Trump’s rise

More in Politics

The Logoff
Trump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictionsTrump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictions
The Logoff

How the Trump administration is still trying to rewrite January 6 history.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Donald Trump messed with the wrong popeDonald Trump messed with the wrong pope
Politics

Trump fought with Pope Francis before. He’s finding Pope Leo XIV to be a tougher foil.

By Christian Paz
Podcasts
A cautionary tale about tax cutsA cautionary tale about tax cuts
Podcast
Podcasts

California cut property taxes in the 1970s. It didn’t go so well.

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Podcasts
Obama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwupsObama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwups
Podcast
Podcasts

Wendy Sherman helped Obama reach a deal with Iran. Here’s what she thinks Trump is doing wrong.

By Kelli Wessinger and Noel King
Politics
The Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything elseThe Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything else
Politics

McNutt v. DOJ could allow the justices to seize tremendous power over the US economy.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
The new Hormuz blockade, briefly explainedThe new Hormuz blockade, briefly explained
The Logoff

Trump tries Iran’s playbook.

By Cameron Peters