No Trump Bragging About Last Night’s Fundraising Haul?

There are some things we can count on the same as counting on the sun rising in the east each morning. One of those things is Trump bragging about money. How much he has of it. Also how much he’s raised/has for his campaign. I heard advance reporting that an exclusive, no press/cameras event with deep pocket donors would take place at a secure Four Seasons (not Mar A Lago? Hmmm) event last night. But no projections on the expected “take” and I use that word deliberately. And so far today (after five pm where I live) no news on how much was raised.

I for one find that more than a little curious. Again, Trump not only craves the appearance of being loaded (with money) his political image requires it. Being a super-duper successful business guy is one of the things MAGAs love about him.  Being broke, and worse being seen as such is the kind of thing that can break the spell. So Trump brags about how much money he raises, even in daily (multiple times per day) email pitches he makes to his MAGAs about how much cash he’s amassing to defeat Biden this November.  (MAGAs too often can’t make sense of only one idea – thinking about two opposing ones at the same time is beyond them) So Trump has to reassure the MAGAs that he’s competing with Biden when it comes to fundraising.

Remember when Biden & Harris had that big fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall over a month ago? Going in journalists were breathless about the anticipated $25 million it would raise. (and it did) Trump of course said he’d have a bigger one and to great fanfare announced a FIFTY million fundraiser less than a week later. He claimed to have gotten it, although I saw little actual reporting about FEC filings to back it up. There IS after all a difference between pledges and actual money changing hands/bank accounts.

So let’s look at this past weekend. A “bigly” fundraiser was planned. Trump has since his criminal trial began complained about not being able to get out on the campaign trail. Ok, so last Wednesday he did finally make a couple of campaign stops in the midwest. But all week long the focus for Trump has been this weekend and the major fundraiser he’d be doing down in Florida. The thing is, unlike early April there wasn’t bigly talk about how much would be raised.  I found that interesting for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost is that given the price of admission, and the HUGE price to get a seat at Trump’s table, or at least “special access” to him he should have had a pretty good starting point for an estimate on how much would be raised last night.  The second is the lack of information on the actual donors, or perhaps it might be more accurate to say potential donors.  We’ve heard the reporting that mega donors were holding back, along with the predictions that if/when Trump became the presumptive nominee they’d open up their wallets, however grudgingly. Some, but not many have publicly stepped up but it seems to me like most are trying to downplay financial support for Trump.

I also find it interesting that journalists are so completely in the dark about that closed-off dinner last night, or haven’t been naming names both before the event and today. Kind of makes me wonder if the bosses in the Executive Suites are afraid of offending corporate bigwigs who might have hinted at taking their advertising dollars elsewhere!  Regardless, the fact is there has been precious little reporting both before and after about how much money was expected to be raised, and how much actually was.

On my homepage I haven’t seen a single story about the event. The best reporting I saw was here on Politizoom where Ursula wrote about the Mar A Lago shindig last night. That outdoor whatever the hell it was that seemed more like a tacky, cheap knockoff of an ancient Roman Circus. Which is about what one should expect from Trump and at Mar A Lago. So I typed a query into the search engine and it came back with some stories that mostly talked about Trump’s remarks, with the “Gestapo” reference about the Biden administration being the dominant theme.

However, a story by Marketwatch provided a more detailed review, but still not much regarding actual money raised.  It wasn’t much, as you can see:

The Republican National Committee said after the event that joint fundraising efforts by the RNC and the campaign for April topped $76 million, by far the best monthly effort of this campaign cycle and a step toward closing Biden’s financial advantage. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley hailed an uptick in small-dollar donors, but the Mar-a-Lago event clearly focused on the party’s deepest pockets. At one point, one attendee said, Trump offered an open microphone to anyone who immediately pledged a $1 million contribution to the party. Two people eventually agreed, the source said.

So let’s recap. All week long we heard about this big mega-donor fundraiser Trump would be having this weekend.  We also as the week went on heard about the weekend also being a combination of vetting/auditioning VP candidates. I might have missed it but I don’t recall much pre weekend reporting about the gaudy, tacky afternoon even at Trump’s actual home. Apparently many of the guests for last night’s main even were invited although it’s unclear how many showed up.

Trump I believe has no intention of picking a VP anytime soon. I have some troubling thoughts on who it might wind up being I’ll address later today or tomorrow. Personally, I think having Kristi Noem leave before inviting the gang of “potentials” onto the stage was Trump’s way of trying to reassure mega donors that “credible” people like Elise Stefanik, Tim Scott, Marco Rubio and even Marsha Blackburn were on a “short list” that doesn’t really exist.  It was nothing but a political dog and pony show – no puppy killers allowed.

Still, almost a day later from the big dinner event that was supposed to generate a massive amount of donations I find it incredible that Trump’s not bragging about how much money was raised! After the week he had in court he sure needs something to brag about.  So if he’d gotten a sh*tload of donations why isn’t Trump, and the RNC making a BFD about it today instead of talking about what was jointly raised back in April? Granted this is pure speculation on my part but here goes:

My guess is that Trump probably got $20M (perhaps twenty-five or so) in actual donations, and the rest was only pledges. Pledges with conditions! Those mega donors, especially those who run or are synonymous with major corporations are skittish about being associated with Trump. Plus, polls aside they have real worries about him winning in November. In the middle of a criminal trial that’s clearly NOT going well for him they are worried well before the convention Trump will simply be too damaged goods to win. Keep in mind Trump is drowning in a Manhattan courtroom and there are weeks to go in his trial. It’s going to get worse for him.

If all that wasn’t enough to put a damper on mega donor enthusiasm consider this:  Even though SCOTUS has effectively blocked a DC trial before the election they might remand the case to judge Chutkan for “fact finding” to determine what is or is not covered by “outer boundaries” of duties in the “Presidential Immunity” they want to create.

We’ll hear more about this if it goes down that way but some legal pundits have already noted that such fact-finding will involve court hearings. During which much of the information/evidence Jack Smith, using powers the J6 Committee didn’t have has obtained.  At least some of the very stuff Trump most definitely does not want and frankly can’t afford to be made public. Possibly before the GOP convention. Even worse would be after. DOJ might have that 60 day policy about going dark but the case is now in judge Chutkan’s hands.  Even if theoretically she could start a trial in say September practically speaking she can’t. A hearing on the other hand is a different story!

So yes, I can see mega donors being skittish about dropping huge sums on Trump’s campaign and instead hedging their bets. And that’s why the news this afternoon, or as far as I know Truth Social being flooded with Trumpian boasting about a YUGE fundraising haul this weekend. I’m sure he did okay. Just not enough to go bragging about.