The Biden campaign has been touting its fundraising advantage over Trump for months, insisting that Trump's "low-energy" campaign can't compete with them and that their fundraising advantage is even more important than Trump's current advantage in the polls. Last week, the Biden campaign hosted a mega fundraiser featuring Hollywood celebrities and three presidents (Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton), bringing in a reported $26 million from large donors who were willing to shell out big money.
Well, on Saturday the Trump campaign destroyed this narrative after hosting a huge fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, that brought in a huge $50.5 million, nearly double what Joe Biden's star-studded fundraiser in New York City was able to pull in.
In other words, despite having celebrities like Lizzo, Queen Latifah, and Stephen Colbert, and three U.S presidents, they couldn't pull in the same amount of money as Donald Trump.
Naturally, liberals are freaking out. They'd been told that Trump was struggling to raise money and that Biden's fundraising advantage would ultimately be the key to him pulling off a victory in November. That narrative is quickly dying as it is clear that Trump can outraise Biden, Obama, Clinton, and a slew of Hollywood celebrities.
Naturally, Joe Biden quickly sought to downplay the significance of Trump's fundraiser.
While Trump is raising money from a bunch of hedge fund billionaires, our grassroots campaign raised $187M this quarter because of folks like you.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 6, 2024
Our grassroots team knows what’s at stake in this election, and they’re pitching in to make sure we win: https://t.co/AW2V9PVKfp pic.twitter.com/1TPbv6fS5X
Just how "grassroots" was Biden's fundraiser? Not only did some tickets to the event cost thousands of dollars, but donors could shell out as much as half a million bucks for VIP access. "More money got donors more intimate time with the presidents," PBS reported. "A photo with all three was $100,000. A donation of $250,000 earned donors access to one reception, and $500,000 got them into an even more exclusive gathering. First lady Jill Biden and DJ D-Nice hosted an afterparty at the music hall with 500 guests, the campaign said."
Related: Here's What Biden Doesn’t Want You to Know About His Fundraising Numbers
Biden wants you think that his fundraising is coming from small donors. But it's not. Based on an analysis of FEC records by Fox Business, 35% of Biden's 2024 re-election campaign funds originate from big donors, which are defined contributions over $2,000. Conversely, only 38% of his donations are from small donors, defined as those giving between $1 and $200. In contrast, the Trump campaign has raised a significant 61% of its donations from small donors, with a mere 9% coming from big donors.
It's true that both campaigns rely on big donations to raise large amounts of money, but Trump is crushing Biden when it comes to grassroots support. In fact, as much as Biden relies on big donors to fund his campaign, it has been acknowledged for some time now that his struggle to get more small donations is a problem. In August, Politico reported that Democrats are extremely concerned about the lack of small donors contributing to Biden's campaign because it suggests a lack of grassroots enthusiasm.
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