Big-money donors are rallying around former President Donald Trump as he prepares to surpass President Biden’s fundraising record.
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This weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump will participate in what is being promoted as an “Inaugural Leadership Dinner.” The event will feature numerous high-profile Republican donors and marks the start of a significant effort to reduce Biden’s advantage in available funds, Fox News reported.
The event will be spearheaded by hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson and co-chaired by hedge fund magnate Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, oil mogul Harold Hamm, hotelier Robert Bigelow, and casino tycoon Steve Wynn, the outlet noted.
Bigelow and Hamm had previously contributed funds to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during his unsuccessful presidential bid against Trump in the primary election. Additionally, Hamm had previously made donations to former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.
Scott Bessent, founder of the investment firm Key Square Group and former chief investment officer at George Soros’s Soros Fund Management, will also co-host the event. Bessent has been speculated to be a potential nominee for a cabinet position in a second Trump administration.
Fox adds:
The event will also be attended by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Strategas Jason Trennert, one of Wall Street’s top thought leaders.
Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts and New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson, along with Wilbur Ross, Trump’s former secretary of commerce, are also expected to be involved.
The event tops out at the “Chairman Level,” which costs $824,600 and includes seating at the former president’s table.
“Now that President Trump won the primaries, defeating all 10 contenders by a landslide, I think it’s time for Republicans to unite behind him,” Paulsen recently told Bloomberg. “For that reason, I’m hosting this inaugural event to galvanize the broad support there is for the president.”
The event follows a star-studded fundraiser with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, which raised at least $26 million for President Biden. It is expected that Trump’s fundraising haul will surpass this figure and potentially raise around $43 million, Fox noted further.
On April 10, Trump will host a fundraising luncheon in the swing state of Georgia alongside former Georgia Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The event is anticipated to draw top GOP donors, including Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, poultry industry executive Tommy Bagwell, beverage sector executive Don Leebern III, and Buckhead advocate Bill White.
On the same day, Trump will also hold a fundraiser in Orlando, Florida, alongside attorney Dan Newlin.
“President Donald J. Trump has again created a fundraising juggernaut among Republicans. While he has been the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party for less than a month, the RNC and Trump campaign are one unified operation and focused on victory,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement earlier this week.