President Trump’s donors helped pick up the tab for the birthday party of Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who helps lead fundraising efforts for the president’s reelection campaign.
Guilfoyle’s 51st birthday celebration at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, cost $50,000, two people familiar with the planning told the New York Times.
At least four families that have donated to Trump’s campaign pitched in tens of thousands of dollars for the March 7 bash.
The White House declined to say why the president did not pay for the party himself.
Caroline Wren, a finance consultant to Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee formed by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, helped Guilfoyle plan the event and gave a speech at the celebration thanking donors for contributing.
Wren said she had been friends with Guilfoyle for several years and volunteered to help with the party.
“This was not a campaign event, nor an RNC event,” she said, “and anything I assisted with was in my private and personal capacity.”
Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for the RNC, said the committee and Trump Victory “were not involved in the organization or financing” of the party.
