TRUMP: 10 VP POSSIBILITIES
Donald Trump said Wednesday that his campaign’s pool of potential running mates stands at 10 people, and more “very big names” want to be considered. Trump made the comments shortly after two prospective vice presidential picks, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, seemed to bow out in media interviews. Trump campaigned with another possible candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Wednesday night in Ohio. He said he’s leaning toward picking an experienced politician, but he’s also considering two generals. Trump is expected to unveil his running mate before his party’s national convention later in the month.
Associated Press
Donald Trump raised more than $26 million through online and mail solicitations in June and another $25 million at events with the Republican National Committee, his campaign announced Wednesday, a hefty haul that his allies hope will put to rest anxieties in the party about his fundraising prowess.
The combined $51 million falls short of the $68.5 million that presumptive Democratic contender Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party collected in June, which included $40.5 million she raised directly for her campaign. But it was the biggest monthly take by far for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who did not begin to hold fundraising events until late May. And it suggests that Trump has the ability to quickly inject large sums of money into his campaign coffers by tapping into the fervor of his supporters.
Much of the campaign’s money appears to have come in during the final 10 days of the month, when Trump’s operation began aggressively soliciting money online for the first time. The Trump campaign announced Wednesday that more than 400,000 supporters made donations in June, with more than $3 million coming in just one day. That indicates the billionaire will be able to post far larger totals in the coming months if he continues to actively urge his backers to give.
Aides said the pace of donations has continued in July, and believe Trump could build the kind of online fundraising juggernaut that drove Sen. Bernie Sanders’s bid.
“We’re extremely pleased with the response,” said Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s national finance chairman, noting the campaign just kicked off its online fundraising efforts two and half weeks ago. “We are seeing similar levels to level of success that Bernie Sanders was able to attract from his supporters.”
“I think that this reflects the wide level of support and interest there is out there to see Donald Trump as president,” he added.
Trump also contributed $3.8 million personally last month, bringing the total donations for the month to $55 million, his campaign said.
It is unclear how much of the $51 million contributed by others will go directly to Trump’s campaign. More than $31 million was raised through two joint fundraising efforts with the RNC, which gets a share of the proceeds.
The Trump campaign must file a detailed report about its June fundraising and expenditures to the Federal Election Commission by July 20, which falls right in the middle of the Republican National Convention.
The campaign began its first real attempt to raise funds online in late June, after its most recent FEC filing showed it brought in just $5.4 million in May, including a $2.2 million loan from the candidate. That paltry total — and the fact that Trump began June with just $1.3 million in the bank — astonished party leaders and fundraisers. They warned that the candidate’s fundraising deficit could hurt down-ticket Republicans counting on a well-funded RNC get-out-the-vote operation.
Trump responded to the criticism by first blaming party leaders for failing to rally around his candidacy and threatening to self-fund his bid, leaving the GOP to fend for itself.
But within days, his campaign began rolling out a series of emails asking supporters for donations. And Trump announced that he was converting $50 million worth of loans he made to his campaign into contributions, seeking to assuage fears that he would use donations to pay himself back.
