Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have been busy funding and promoting their campaigns. For the first time, Trump reported fundraising that tops Biden, but a controversial campaign ad posted to Trump’s Truth Social account has his campaign doing damage control.
Although Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party out-fundraised Biden in the month of April, Biden still holds more cash on hand.
Trump advisers reported that $76 million was raised in April. Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign reported $24 million raised in the same month.
Alternatively, looking at cash on hand, Biden’s campaign reported $84.5 million on hand, whereas Trump’s campaign reported $48 million.
Trump’s boost in April is in part because of a fundraising gala in Palm Beach, Florida, featuring multiple billionaires. He is also receiving a fair amount of support from donors in the oil and gas industry, raising over $7 million from executives in that field. That is over three times what the industry provided Trump with in 2020.
Despite his financial success, Trump is facing backlash after a campaign ad referencing Nazi Germany was uploaded to his Truth Social account.
The video starts with a picture of Trump on the cover of an old newspaper with a voiceover saying, “What happens after Donald Trump wins? What’s next for America?”
The large headline reads “What’s Next For America?” However, a smaller headline in the left says, “Industrial Strength Significantly Increased — Driven by the Creation of a Unified Reich.”
A “unified Reich” is often a term used to describe Hitler’s regime in the 1930s.
“Donald Trump is not playing games; he is telling America exactly what he intends to do if he regains power: rule as a dictator over a ‘unified reich,’” Biden’s campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.
Trump’s spokesperson said the campaign worker who uploaded the video to Trump’s account did not see those words in the video. According to the spokesperson, the video was made by a third-party using a World War I template newspaper that allowed the team to swap headlines with hypothetical ones for if Trump were to win.
The spokesperson said the staffer missed the controversial rhetoric flashing around the headlines. The video has since been deleted from Trump’s Truth Social account.
Amid the drama with his campaign ad, Trump has been in a New York courtroom. The former president’s criminal trial is close to wrapping up, with both the prosecution and defense resting. Trump will not testify.
Meanwhile, Biden is back on the campaign trail in Boston on Tuesday, May 21. Pro-Palestinian protesters are set to continue congregating at Biden’s campaign stops as they did in Detroit and Atlanta.
Biden supporters continue to protest his stance in supporting Israel in its war with Hamas. On Monday, May 20, the president said the conflict is not genocide.
The two candidates will continue campaigning. The pair has two debates scheduled as the November election approaches.
