Trump campaign fundraising slows for 2nd straight month

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s fundraising pace slowed slightly for the second straight month as the nation reeled from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Republican National Committee and Trump’s reelection campaign announced Monday that they raised more than $61.7 million in April. It brings Trump's total haul cycle for the election cycle to over $742 million. That’s $288 million more than the Obama reelection effort had at this same point, the campaign and the RNC announced in a joint statement.

The campaign raised $63 million in March, down from the $86 million raised in February.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement that the April haul underscores that the president's “consistent record of unprecedented action is met with overwhelming enthusiasm and support.”

Despite the drop, Trump's fundraising remains far ahead of likely Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Biden’s presidential campaign said Monday that it and the Democratic National Committee jointly raised $60 million in April. It's a solid sum that may ease some Democratic worries that Biden is stumbling in the money race.

Biden’s campaign was almost broke before he vaulted to the top of the crowded Democratic presidential field on Super Tuesday in early March. He became the party’s presumptive nominee when his sole remaining rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, suspended his campaign in early April.

The campaign said in a statement that its average April donation was $32.63, “showing continued grassroots strength even in this time of crisis.” It has recently announced a number of hires, a sign of a newly secure financial position.