$35,000-a-plate fundraiser boosts Trump for 2020
WASHINGTON — President Trump was whisked a few blocks from the White House to his hotel Wednesday night for his first re-election fundraiser.
Security was tight at the Trump International Hotel, where guests in long gowns and sharp suits started arriving around 5 p.m.
The president’s motorcade was greeted by dozens of protesters hoisting signs with slogans like “Health care not tax cuts” and chanting, “Shame!”
As a first-time candidate, Trump got a late start on fundraising in 2016, holding his first big-ticket donor event only five months before Election Day. That won’t be the case this time.
Some 40 months ahead of his next election, the president held court at the $35,000-perplate donor event. About 300 people were expected to attend the fundraiser, which was expected to pull in about $10 million, said Lindsay Jancek, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
Breaking the tradition of his predecessor, Trump didn’t allow reporters to hear his remarks to the donors.
White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was nothing unusual about raising political cash so early.
“He’s raising money for the party,” she said. “I don’t think that’s abnormal for any president.”
Sanders’ statement that Trump is raising cash for the GOP tells only part of the story, though.
The first cut of the money raised goes to Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. The rest gets spread among the RNC and other Republican entities. Having multiple beneficiaries is what allows Trump to ask for well above the usual $5,400 per-donor maximum for each election cycle.
That figure is likely to change when new limits for 2020 are set by the Federal Election Commission.
Trump’s historically early campaigning comes with benefits and challenges.
In the first three months of this year, the Trump campaign raised more than $7 million, through small donations and the sale of Trump-themed merchandise such as the red “Make America Great Again” ball caps.
The RNC also is benefiting from the new president’s active campaigning, having raised about $62 million through the end of last month. The party has raised more online this year than it did in all of 2016.
Trump’s re-election money helps pay for his political rallies. He has held five so far, and campaign director Michael Glassner says those events help keep him connected to his base of voters.
The constant politicking, however, means it is challenging for government employees to avoid crossing ethical lines. Some watchdog groups have flagged White House employee tweets that veer into campaign territory. White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters says the employees work closely with lawyers to avoid pitfalls.