Christian Smith
(NewsNation) – Presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump is stepping up his fundraising efforts, putting more events on the books as the campaign works to close a crucial financial gap.
Trump will attend a major fundraiser Tuesday night in New York. Tickets start at $100,000 and go up to more than $844,000, according to an invitation obtained by NewsNation.
The fundraiser in New York, combined with other events this week, will raise $25 million, a campaign official told NewsNation, confirming a number first reported by Fox News.
Major donors serving as hosts include New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as ambassador to the United Kingdom in the Trump administration; investor Duke Buchan, who served as U.S. ambassador to Spain during the Trump administration; supermarket chain owner John Catsimatidis, and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law and a real estate developer.
This event can also be seen as another live version of “The Apprentice,” when several of Trump’s running mate candidates are expected to attend, including Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. . ., and Marco Rubio, R-Fl.
Instead of appearing at campaign rallies as he promised to do, Trump is expected to be the main attraction at high-dollar fundraisers across the country, typically on Wednesdays when his criminal business records trial is not in session. progress.
This Wednesday, he will participate in donor events in Lexington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Next week, he will travel to Texas for a fundraiser in Dallas on behalf of the super PAC supporting him, Make American Great Again, according to an invitation obtained by NewsNation.
Texas oil executive Harold Hamm, who supported Trump in 2016 but later supported Nikki Haley before returning to Trump’s fold, will host the event. Hamm and Trump had dinner Monday night in New York, NewsNation has learned. A spokesperson for Hamm did not return a message seeking comment on his efforts.
There’s also a big fundraising trip to the West Coast planned for early June.
Campaign officials said that after attending the silent trial, Trump will have dinner with donors or speak to them on the phone.
Trump is also receiving foreign aid. After he and former foe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met a few weeks ago to mend fences, the governor is making plans to start raising money for himself, a source familiar with the effort told NewsNation.
The Associated Press originally reported DeSantis’ new effort, which would be reaching out to some of his supporters who haven’t donated to Trump, while his team is starting to schedule some events where DeSantis will engage donors.
This impetus for the intensified effort is the cash deficit that the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have compared with the Democrats. Biden, combined with the Democratic National Committee, ended March with $192 million in cash on hand, more than double what Trump and the Republican National Committee had.
The Trump campaign did not return a message seeking comment on the fundraiser.
Trump and the Republicans are gaining ground thanks to big April events, like last month’s massive Mar-a-Lago gala, which raised more than $50 million, and the Republican donor retreat earlier this month at the Palm. Beach, Florida.
A senior official confirmed the campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $76 million in April. The Federal Election Commission has not yet released official numbers for the month.
Democrats are not giving up. President Joe Biden wrapped up a weekend trip to the West Coast where he raised $10 million, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
Additionally, several major Democratic events are planned: a June fundraiser featuring Biden, former President Barack Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts, a campaign official confirmed, and a separate summer event featuring of former president Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
NewsNation’s Libby Dean and Tanya Noury contributed to this story.
