Trump campaign to raise record-breaking $50M at billionaire dinner — doubling Biden’s NYC haul
Former president Donald Trump is poised to shatter President Biden’s single-event fundraising record with a swanky $50 million dinner Saturday night — swelling the Republican Party’s campaign war chest seven months ahead of the presidential election.
A private evening fundraiser, hosted by hedge funder John Paulson at his Palm Beach mansion near Trump’s own Mar-a-Lago estate, will double the record $25 million haul from Joe Biden’s March 28 Radio City shindig, organizers say.
“It took three Democrat presidents to raise $25 million and one president to raise over $50 million, Donald J. Trump,” campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told The Post.
“This haul shows the Republican Party is united behind President Trump to defeat Joe Biden and that nobody is staying on the sidelines,” she added.
Paulson said that the response from GOP megadonors “has been overwhelming.”
“There is massive support amongst a broad spectrum of donors,” the billionaire said.
Sources in Trump’s inner circle have called the “Inaugural Leadership Dinner” a “come-home-to-Trump moment” — the first major GOP fundraiser since Trump clinched the GOP nomination, and a chance for prominent Republicans to show their support in the wake of a rancorous primary.
To that end, three of Trump’s former GOP rivals — Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — are all attending as “special guests.”
And at least two of the event’s co-chairs, hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow and oil magnate Harold Hamm, were top backers of Trump’s chief challengers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador Nikki Haley.
“It’s amazing what winning can do to change people’s minds,” said GOP strategist Ryan Girdusky.
“With Trump now the nominee, the donors who said they would never get behind him are all unifying because they know that taking out Joe Biden is more essential than any particular problems they have with Trump,” Girdusky said.
Saturday’s attendees are paying between $250,000 and $814,600 per person for the reception and dinner at Paulson’s $110 million oceanfront home.
Meanwhile, attendees are paying between $250,000 and $814,600 per person for the reception and dinner at Paulson’s $110 million oceanfront home.
Guests will include WWE co-founder Linda McMahon, hotelier Steve Wynn, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer.
A joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee will send most of the ticket price to the RNC and to state Republican parties — with the first $6,600 of each donation going to the former president’s campaign and the next $5,000 to a leadership PAC that has been paying his legal bills.
On Wednesday, the GOP announced that the joint fundraising effort had raised over $65.6 million in March, ending the month with over $91.3 million cash on hand.
But Biden on Saturday announced an eye-popping $90 million fund-raising effort in March, outpacing Trump’s tally by nearly $25 million and bringing the Democrat’s total cash on hand to a historically high $192 million.
Biden took a preemptive strike against Trump’s funding bonanza with a video posted to X.
“Folks, you know Trump is down in Florida today raising money from a bunch of hedge fund billionaires,” the president said in the 54-second clip.
“This campaign is Scranton versus Palm Beach,” he said – despite the $500,000 price tag of his own lavish New York City fundraiser last week.
