President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have raised hundreds of millions of dollars since Election Day as GOP donors fund Trump’s legal challenges over the election.
The Trump campaign announced on Thursday that the campaign and RNC have raised a combined $207.5 million since Nov. 3. Over the course of the Oct. 15 to Nov. 23 reporting period, the Trump campaign, its affiliated committees and PACs, and the RNC raised $495 million.
“These tremendous fundraising numbers show President Trump remains the leader and source of energy for the Republican Party, and that his supporters are dedicated to fighting for the rightful, legal outcome of the 2020 general election,” Trump Campaign Manager Bill Stepien said in a statement. “It also positions President Trump to continue leading the fight to clean up our corrupt elections process in so many areas around the country, and to build on gains from the 2020 elections so we can take back the House and build on our Senate majority in 2022.”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel added: “The American people know what’s at stake. Thanks to our incredible supporters, we’ve been fighting tooth and nail to uphold election integrity across the country and defend our Senate Republicans in Georgia. We are investing millions to push back against the Democrats’ unprecedented power grab and drive a massive Get Out The Vote operation in the Peach State. The work we are doing today is critical to ensuring a better tomorrow for all Americans.”
Democratic nominee Joe Biden is on track to win the election with 306 electoral votes. Trump has not conceded the election, however, while he exhausts legal challenges to alleged misconduct and fraud in battleground states. The president maintains that the presidential election was rigged with tens of thousands of fraudulent and illegal votes for Biden.
The large infusion of cash into the Trump campaign and its various affiliates may be a measure of how much Republican donors and supporters of the president buy into his claims about the election. Trump has also gotten support from other big-name Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who donated $500,000 from his campaign treasury to Trump’s.
Much of the money raised may not end up funding Trump’s legal battles, instead going to fund Save America, Trump’s new political action committee. As The Daily Wire reported:
In the days since the election, though, team Trump has continued raising funds for the ongoing legal challenges. The money, media sources note, is more than what is needed to fund state-based litigation, and much of what is raised will go to the president’s new political action committee, Save America, and will help fund current and future Republican campaigns, including ongoing Republican efforts to retain two Georgia Senate seats.
“The committee is dubbed Save America, according to its filings with the Federal Election Commission,” CNN reports. “And Trump’s team already has begun fundraising for the PAC, adding Save America to the list of political organizations that will receive a share of the funds the President’s operation is scrambling to raise for what it calls his ‘election defense task force.’”
Actual numbers aren’t available, but as much as 60% to 75% of what has been raised could end up funding Save America. Some of the raised funds, The Associated Press notes, have gone to paying down campaign debt and replenishing the Republican National Committee.