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Former President Donald Trump might find himself sending out thank-you letters after last month’s fundraising erased his opponent’s cash lead.

Politico reported that it took just one month for Trump to close the financial gap with President Joe Biden, with records indicating that Trump closed out the month of May with $116.6 million whereas Biden ended the month with just $91.6 million.

But what happened in May that prompted Trump donors to give so much?

“It wasn’t due to poor fundraising on the incumbent’s part — Biden’s campaign saw a decent fundraising rebound in May after a weak showing the month prior,” Politico wrote. “But Trump’s fundraising while he was on trial in New York that month, punctuated in the final days when he was convicted, was enough to surpass Biden in campaign cash, something that had long been seen as a crucial strength of his.”

Indeed, even senior CNN pundit Scott Jennings joked that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg made “the biggest individual contribution in the history of presidential campaigns” after Trump’s conviction.

According to the Republican National Committee, a total of $141 million was raised in the month of May, including a massive surge in donations in the final two days of the month when Trump was declared “guilty” of “hush money” charges as well as the day after.

“In total, Trump’s campaign and the RNC reported just over $170 million cash on hand combined at the end of May, overtaking Biden and the Democratic National Committee, which reported just shy of $157 million,” Politico continued.

On the other hand, Biden’s fundraising has been on the rise, rebounding in May after receiving just $51 million in March. However, the incumbent is outspending his Republican opponent with a focus on ad buys. Reported in a filing from Thursday, the Biden campaign spent $30 million over the month, “up from $25 million the previous month and nearly four times as much as Trump’s campaign spent over the same period.”

“Ad buys and media production accounted for roughly two-thirds of that spending total, but Biden also outspent Trump heavily in a range of other expense categories, such as payroll, on which Biden’s campaign spent nearly $3.8 million compared to $176,000 for Trump,” Politico reported.

The large difference in the numbers could be, in part, explained by some of those in the Trump campaign being moved over to the RNC payroll.

It remains to be seen what Trump will do with this windfall, and if the numbers will shift following the highly-anticipated Trump/Biden debate.

Social media weighed in on the news:

Sierra Marlee
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