O’Rourke raises $6.1M in 24 hours
Beto O’Rourke raised more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours after announcing his presidential campaign last week, according to his campaign, outpacing his rivals for the Democratic nomination and making an emphatic statement about his grassroots financial strength.
Mr. O’Rourke brought in $6,136,736 after declaring his long-anticipated bid with a web video and trip to Iowa on Thursday morning, raising the sum entirely online and from all 50 states, the campaign said.
He narrowly beat the first-day haul of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who raised $5.9 million after announcing his bid last month and who would go on to raise $10 million before his first week was over.
Mr. O’Rourke’s early burst of fundraising illustrates how much he has captured the imagination of many Democratic activists around the country, who propelled him to break financial records last year in his ultimately losing bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
There is no way to independently confirm either candidate’s initial contributions; Mr. O’Rourke, Mr. Sanders and the rest of the presidential hopefuls must file fundraising reports at the end of March. Those firstquarter filings will be made public on April 15.
Fox hires Brazile
Fox News, which has been accused by critics of having a cozy relationship with the Trump White House, has hired longtime Democratic strategist Donna Brazile as an on-air contributor. Ms. Brazile will appear across all Fox News programs in daytime and prime time, the network announced Monday.
Ms. Brazile, who served as interim head of the Democratic National Committee in 2016 and campaign manager for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, immediately becomes the highest-profile Democratic talking head on Fox News.
Ms. Brazile said in a statement that she is taking on the role on a network that has been demonized by the Democratic Party because she wants to promote more civil discourse in the politically polarized landscape.
Ms. Brazile, 59, has previously been a commentator for CNN. She resigned in October 2016 following a Wikileaks dump of hacked DNC emails that revealed she shared information with Hillary Clinton’s campaign about questions CNN used in a Democratic candidates’ town hall meeting on the network.
Trump on New Zealand
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — President Donald Trump says he is being unfairly blamed for the New Zealand mosque attacks in which 50 people died.
Mr. Trump tweeted Monday that the media “is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand.” He adds: “They will have to work very hard to prove that one.”
The gunman in last week’s attacks left a document in which he called himself a white nationalist and referred to Mr. Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity.”
Mr. Trump had expressed sympathy for the victims, but played down the threat of white nationalism across the world, saying he didn’t consider it a rising threat despite data suggesting it’s growing.