Former President Trump’s new political action committee brought in more than $ 30 million in the final weeks of 2020, giving him a large war chest to continue wielding his political influence, even though he is no longer in office.
Save America, a leading PAC established after the general election, entered 2021 with more than $ 31 million in cash on hand, according to an application from a Federal Election Commission. Most of that money, $ 30.4 million, was provided by the Trump Make America Great Again committee.
The money in Save America is only a fraction of what Mr. Trump and the Republicans hold in the accounts of various political committees. His presidential campaign committee still has $ 10.7 million in the bank. Mr. Trump’s joint fundraising committees with the Republican National Committee, Trump Make America Great Again Committee and Trump Victory have about $ 63 million in cash on hand – though the former president is not entitled to all that money.
The four committees raised more than $ 62 million from individual contributions between Nov. 24 and Dec. 31, according to FEC documents filed Sunday. During that time, Mr. Trump regularly sought funds, raising doubts about the results of the 2020 election. “President Trump needs YOU to make sure we have the resources to protect the integrity of the election,” pleaded. website in December.
While the fundraising efforts have largely focused on claims of voter fraud or election integrity, a closer look at the fine print showed that as of a few weeks after election day, 75% of all donations under $ 5,000 went to Save America, while 25% of that went to Save America, according to the disclaimer of the campaign to the account of the Republican National Committee. Donations in excess of $ 5,000 went to the RNC’s Legal Proceedings of Headquarters account up to a specified amount.
The RNC brought in more than $ 18.8 million in individual contributions in the final stretch of 2020 and received more than $ 22 million from the Trump Make America Great Again committee. The RNC ended the year with more than $ 80 million in the bank.
Mr. Trump can contribute up to $ 5,000 from his leadership PAC to any candidate he wants to support. He can also use Save America’s money to pay for rallies, travel, political advertising, and other expenses.
Save America ordered last week and sent out a poll showing that a significant majority of Republicans in Wyoming had an unfavorable view of Congressman Liz Cheney after her vote to impeach Mr. Trump. The PAC also released a statement on Mr. Trump’s meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in Florida last Thursday, bragging about his popularity and vowing to help Republicans retake the House. “[H]approval means more than perhaps any approval at any point, ”the statement announced.
In the first 19 days after election day, Mr. Trump’s campaign, the RNC, the joint fundraising committees and Save America raised $ 207.5 million, according to Mr. Trump’s campaign. Those same committees raised more than $ 80 million in individual contributions between November 24 and December 31, 2020.
A CBS News analysis of FEC spending reports found that Mr. Trump’s campaign appears to have spent a fraction of what it brought in after the election, about $ 6.8 million, in legal costs for litigating the outcome of the elections – all referred to as “legal advice” or “recount: legal advice” after Nov. 3. Reports from the FEC also indicate that the RNC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on “legal and compliance services” after election day, although it is not immediately clear how much of that has been spent on lawsuits related to the presidential election.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee is coming out of the 2020 presidential election much better than it was four years ago. The DNC had nearly $ 39 million in cash on hand to begin 2021 and $ 3 million in debt. Four years ago, Democrats had $ 10.5 million in the bank, $ 4 million in debt, and struggled for years with weak fundraising – until Joe Biden neared the Democratic nomination. According to The New York Times, about $ 40 million has been set aside for the party from the joint fundraising campaign with the Biden campaign. That joint fundraising committee had $ 44.7 million in cash on hand at the end of 2020.
Nicole Sganga, Sarah Ewall-Wice and Kabir Khanna contributed to the reporting