Donald Trump’s presidential campaign announced that the presumptive nominee had raised $51m in June both on his own behalf and on behalf of the Republican National Committee.
However, the fundraising haul comes as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) confirmed to the Guardian that Trump had yet to follow up on his late June promise to convert over $45m in loans to his campaign to donations. Trump bragged that he had done so in a 23 June announcement in order to boast donors’ confidence in his efforts and reassure those worried that he would use campaign funds to reimburse himself.
In a somewhat convoluted statement, Trump announced through fundraising emails his campaign had raised $19m and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint effort of Trump and the RNC, had raised $6.6m. The campaign said 94% of donors to this effort gave less than $200.
Further, through high-dollar fundraising events held by the Trump Victory Fund, a combined effort of Trump, the RNC and state Republican parties, more than $25m had been raised. Despite the fact that the maximum that any one person can give to a presidential campaign is $5,400, the max donation to Trump Victory Fund is $449,000. The $25m also included money raised in the last week of May in addition to the month of June.
The total represents a significant improvement over Trump’s past fundraising. The presumptive Republican nominee had raised only $17.4m so far in his entire campaign, much of which had come from selling hats and other merchandise. In May, Trump only raised $3.1m from donors.
In a statement, Trump touted that he had given an additional $3.8m to his campaign, raising his total contributions for the cycle to $55m. FEC documents show that Trump has only contributed $46m to his campaign, almost all of which have been through loans. Even adding in the additional $3.8m, it leaves a $5m discrepancy between Trump’s stated and reported contributions to his campaign.
Trump’s campaign, though, did not report how much cash the presumptive Republican nominee had on hand – as of his May campaign finance report, Trump only had $1.3m. In contrast, rival Hillary Clinton had $42m on hand.
In a statement released on 1 July, Clinton announced that she had raised $68m in the month of June, of which $40m had gone to her campaign. The remainder went to the DNC and to state parties through the Hillary Victory Fund, a fundraising vehicle similar to the Trump Victory Fund.
Trump has until 20 days after he is formally nominated in Cleveland to convert his campaign loans from the primary election to donations. Otherwise, it happens automatically. However, he is not required to file a formal report with the FEC about his June fundraising until 20 July, which will be during the convention and likely after Trump officially becomes the GOP standard bearer.
