As Donald Trump hustles to close the cash gap with Hillary Clinton, he is embarking on his most aggressive fundraising push yet — but his team is refusing to name the bundlers across the country who are helping grease an operation that raised a stronger-than-expected $80 million in July.
Trump has scheduled a blitz of fundraisers across the country in the coming weeks, such as the two high-dollar soirees he attended in Nantucket and Cape Cod over the weekend, including one at the home of billionaire Bill Koch, the lesser-known brother of Charles and David. There, co-hosts had to raise at least $100,000 for six tickets to a VIP reception and a photo with the Manhattan mogul.
It is a sharp departure from the primary, when Trump claimed he couldn’t be bought and his decision to pour tens of millions of his own money into the race was central to his image as a selfless billionaire sacrificing for the betterment of the nation. But now that both he and Clinton are leaning on big donors to fund their fall campaigns, it is Clinton who is more open about her own finances and where the money is coming from.
“The fact that he has not released his bundlers is very upsetting,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.“This is a basic piece of information that the voters need: Who is bankrolling the campaign? And who are the bag men who are holding out the bags collecting the contributions?”
Trump... has so far refused to release any of his taxes, justifying the break with historic precedent by claiming he is under audit. Trump’s campaign has also not disclosed the names of his bundlers, and it didn't respond to multiple inquiries about whether it intends to do so. Nor does the Trump campaign systematically disclose when he attends fundraisers, who is hosting, or the price of admission.
Trump has scheduled a blitz of fundraisers across the country in the coming weeks, such as the two high-dollar soirees he attended in Nantucket and Cape Cod over the weekend, including one at the home of billionaire Bill Koch, the lesser-known brother of Charles and David. There, co-hosts had to raise at least $100,000 for six tickets to a VIP reception and a photo with the Manhattan mogul.
It is a sharp departure from the primary, when Trump claimed he couldn’t be bought and his decision to pour tens of millions of his own money into the race was central to his image as a selfless billionaire sacrificing for the betterment of the nation. But now that both he and Clinton are leaning on big donors to fund their fall campaigns, it is Clinton who is more open about her own finances and where the money is coming from.
“The fact that he has not released his bundlers is very upsetting,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.“This is a basic piece of information that the voters need: Who is bankrolling the campaign? And who are the bag men who are holding out the bags collecting the contributions?”
Trump... has so far refused to release any of his taxes, justifying the break with historic precedent by claiming he is under audit. Trump’s campaign has also not disclosed the names of his bundlers, and it didn't respond to multiple inquiries about whether it intends to do so. Nor does the Trump campaign systematically disclose when he attends fundraisers, who is hosting, or the price of admission.
