President Donald Trump savaged the megadonor class during his 2016 campaign. Now, he’s turning to them to bankroll his 2020 effort.
The Trump political machine raked in $108 million for his campaign and the Republican National Committee during the second quarter of the year, and the massive haul was fueled in no small part by some of the Republican Party’s biggest givers, according to filings released Monday evening.
An array of donors forked over six-figure checks, and more than a dozen gave Trump Victory Committee — a joint fundraising venture with the RNC — the maximum allowed, $360,000.
The list of those giving the most allowed includes Nebraska megadonor Marlene Ricketts, who helped bankroll the multimillion-dollar effort to stop Trump from winning the 2016 Republican nomination. Since then, the Ricketts clan has become supportive of the president, with Ricketts’ son Todd serving as RNC finance chairman.
The roster of max-out givers also includes Linda McMahon, the former WWE executive who this spring stepped down from her post as head of the Small Business Administration to lead the principal pro-Trump super PAC. In that role, McMahon has been charged with courting megadonors who can cut big checks.
Get the Exclusive
04.26.2024