WASHINGTON — Together, President Trump and the Republican National Committee raised more than $105 million in the second fundraising quarter. The eye-popping haul will likely give them a big head start over Trump’s eventual opponent, no matter who the Democrats pick.The Trump campaign raised $54 million while the RNC brought in $51 million, they announced Tuesday. The two groups now said they have a combined $100 million on hand — $56 million for the campaign and $44 million for the RNC. By comparison, President Obama’s campaign raised $85 million over the same stretch ahead of his 2012 re-election, though overall campaign fundraising has crept up a bit in the last eight years."Our massive fundraising success is a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump,” said Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale. "No Democrat candidate can match this level of enthusiasm or President Trump’s outstanding record of results."That combined haul from April through June gives Trump the edge on building out a get-out-the-vote infrastructure and spending early campaign ads heading into his re-election campaign.Trump’s haul will almost certainly best every Democrat running for president — but given the crowded field, that’s no surprise.The top Democrats running for president are showing that they can raise big money as well, though nowhere near as much as Trump has managed. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign announced he’d raised $24.8 million during the same stretch, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign announced Tuesday morning that he’d hauled in $18 million and transferred over another $6 million from previous campaigns.The rest of the Democratic candidates have yet to announce their fundraising figures, though former Vice President Joe Biden has indicated his team has raised at least $20 million.The Democratic National Committee also hasn’t announced its quarterly fundraising totals but has struggled badly for years. The committee ended May with a paltry $8.3 million in the bank.The DNC’s cash struggles have become an ongoing worry for Democratic strategists — especially with the prospect of a long, expensive primary sapping their eventual nominee’s resources and putting them at a disadvantage heading into the general election next summer.Cover image: US President Donald Trump smiles after signing an Executive Order Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2019. Credit: Yuri Gripas / Pool via CNP | usage worldwide Photo by: Yuri Gripas/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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