Trump and GOP pulled in $86 million online amid push to contest election

Former President Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raked in about $86 million between Nov. 24 and the end of 2020, a haul that came as the then-president and the GOP sought to undermine the results of the presidential election.

The donations were disclosed in a Friday filing with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) by WinRed, the GOP’s online fundraising platform, and first reported by Bloomberg. WinRed reported raising $207 million for GOP candidates and committees in total from the last week of November to the end of the year.

The bulk of the money Trump raised – $68 million – went to Trump Make America Great Again, which in turn splits donations between Save America, the political action committee the former president started after the election, and the RNC. 

Save America, which was started at the tail end of Trump’s presidency, sent out a flood of fundraising solicitations saying that contributions would go toward a legal fund to help contest the results of the election in court. However, the vast majority of the funds ultimately flowed to Save America, with the remaining chunk going to the RNC.

WinRed’s filing shows Trump’s campaign raised $14.1 million from online donors, while Save America got $501,224. Trump Victory, the vehicle Trump used to court big-dollar donors, raised just $24,965 online.

Trump spent the final weeks of his presidency after the Nov. 3 election leveling unsubstantiated claims that widespread voter fraud and irregularities cost him a second term. However, virtually all of his lawsuits were tossed for lack of evidence or standing, and his efforts to persuade a large enough group of state and federal lawmakers to stop certification of President Biden’s Electoral College win failed.