Donald Trump’s fundraising a mystery

The RNC should know. The party has partnered with Trump to raise money for the fall through a joint fundraising committee called “Trump Victory.” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has been intimately involved.

Estimates of what Trump raised during a weekend swing through Texas were all over the map.

Initially, news reports (citing anonymous sources) projected that Trump was on track to collect $5-$6 million from three events, one each in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Subsequent reporting said Trump brought in more than $8 million.

Trump pegged that figure at $12 million to $13 million. Theoretically, the New York businessman’s claim is plausible.

Trump Victory can accept single donations as high as $449,400, which is then dispersed to the Trump campaign, the RNC, and designated state Republican parties. Additionally, Texas is akin to a cash register for Republican candidates.

But Republican insiders who operate in GOP money circles are skeptical that Trump brought in more than $2 million per event. Such amounts would be stellar even for the most prolific Republican fundraisers, including Mitt Romney, who raised $1 billion as the party’s nominee in 2012.

The signs of a successful fundraising apparatus just aren’t there, say the GOP insiders who spoke to the Washington Examiner for this story and requested anonymity in order to speak candidly.

Chief among the missing ingredients is Trump’s apparent refusal to personally ask for money. “They come to me,” he told NBC News.

Also raising questions about how much money Trump raised in Texas is the invitation to the Trump Victory event in Houston, which was obtained by the Examiner.

Only five names are featured at the top as hosts: Priebus; former Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Trump Victory finance chairman Lew Eisenberg; Trump campaign finance chairman Steven Mnuchin; and Tony Buzbee, who made his home available for the event. That matters because bundlers who raise money for a fundraising event are usually listed as a host or co-host of some sort.

Now compare that to a typical fundraising invitation in 2012 for Romney.

For one event in Palm Beach, Fla., there were six “event chairs;” more than 26 event “co-chairs;” plus another 70 on the “host committee.” That’s not counting the couple that opened their home for the fundraising.

So, there is either an army of GOP insiders who have asked that their names not be listed on the Trump Victory invitation, or there aren’t very many of them. The former is possible, although it would be unusual.

“Donors tell me that they haven’t gotten any calls — there are no invitations [for fundraising events] going around,” a Republican operative said Friday.

“They have a lot of fundraisers planned, but I haven’t heard what the real numbers are” that they’re raising,” added a second GOP operative. “I cannot tell what is going on.”

The RNC declined on Friday to address a series of questions, posed via email, regarding Trump Victory. Among them:

• How much money did it expect to raise in Texas last week during Trump’s fundraising swing through the state?
• Is Trump is making fundraising calls to donors?
• How much money did Trump Victory raise in May and so far in June?
• Have top GOP bundlers have signed on to help Trump Victory since it launched last month?

RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters would only confirm that Trump Victory raised $6 million from one event last month in California. Notably, that was before Trump’s racially charged remarks about a federal judge caused fresh concerns about his candidacy.

Trump’s political fundraising abilities aren’t yet known.

He didn’t raise money for in the GOP primary, instead financing his campaign with small donations from supporters and tens of millions in loans from his personal fortune. The real estate mogul hasn’t cultivated a network of donors and has previously described campaign contributors in criminal terms.

Dollar figures revealing how well his general election fundraising is going won’t be available until new reports are filed with the Federal Election Commission, possibly as early as this week. A successful showing could prove critics wrong and quiet doubters.

Trump this week will file a monthly report with the FEC (for May) on his presidential campaign committee. Trump Victory could file with the FEC this week, or could wait until July to file its first report. Donations to Trump’s campaign are limited to $2,700 per contributor for the general election campaign.

That’s why Trump’s main fundraising vehicle for the general election is Trump Victory. At $449,400, it allows him to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single contribution from an individual donor. That money is shared with the RNC and participating state parties, but all of the cash eventually finds its way back to Trump.

There are seven Trump Victory donor program levels that offer benefits and recognition for donating and bundling. The top four levels break down as follows:

• Presidential Trust. To reach this level, an individual must contribute $449,400 and raise an additional $1 million. Among the benefits are a “VIP experience” at the Cleveland convention and a special meeting with Trump in New York.
• Chairman’s Council. Reaching this level requires raising $1 million. Benefits include an invitation to an exclusive donor retreat in the fall.
• Trump Victory Council. Donate $449,400 or raise $500,000. Benefits include invitations to Trump Victory events.
• RNC Trust. Contribute or raise $334,000. Benefits include “premier 2017 inauguration benefits.”

Trump Victory’s ability to raise money is crucial to Trump’s November success, notwithstanding the nominee’s claim that he is only raising money to help the party and is leaving the door open to financing his campaign with his own money.

To begin with, Trump’s own campaign is a shoestring operation.

Secondly, Trump is relying on the RNC for voter turnout and data analytics. So in reality, every dollar he raises for Trump Victory benefits his campaign.

Even the state parties that are a part of Trump Victory are nothing more than temporary holding accounts that will eventually shift the money they receive to the state parties in the battleground states the nominee needs to win to defeat Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and become president.

But that didn’t stop Trump from insisting otherwise in a series of weekend interviews and campaign rallies.

“If the Republican party acts like they don’t wanna help, I’ll fund my own campaign,” Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas. “Right now I’m raising a lot of money for the GOP. I like doing it. But we have to have help.” Trump said “life is like a two-way street,” suggesting the GOP had to start sending help his way too. “Otherwise, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. Funding my own campaign. That’s the easy way. Hopefully, we can continue to go the way we’re going.”