With two primary season wins in his pocket, former President Donald Trump is ramping up efforts to bring potential megadonors into the campaign fold with personal calls, motorcade rides and meals at his Mar-a-Lago private club, a source familiar with the endeavor told CNN.
Casino magnate Steve Wynn spent the night of the New Hampshire primary alongside Trump. Aerospace mogul Robert Bigelow and Las Vegas businessman Don Ahern traveled in Trump’s motorcade to his recent Nevada campaign event after meeting with the former president. And on Thursday, a slate of big donors is expected to have dinner with Trump during a fundraiser at a private home in Palm Beach, Florida.
The source said that Trump has recently garnered financial commitments from many of these high-dollar donors, including Ahern and Bigelow, who was one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ biggest financial backers and donated $20 million to the super PAC backing DeSantis’ presidential bid. DeSantis dropped out of the GOP race earlier this month.
Trump also met with GOP megadonor Rebekah Mercer at his Florida resort last year. The Mercer family’s financial backing in 2016 was instrumental to helping him win the presidency that year.
It was not immediately clear if any of these recent financial commitments would appear in campaign filings due this week with federal regulators, covering the final months of 2023. Politico first reported the details of Trump’s outreach to donors.
After he announced his 2024 presidential run, several large Republican donors publicly said that it was time to move on from the Trump, following his loss in 2020, the events of January 6, 2021, and the lackluster results for Trump-backed candidates in swing states in the 2022 midterm elections. While some of these high-dollar financiers are coming around to Trump, others have shifted to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki…
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