Trump Boasts About Squeezing Donor for Way More Cash in New Audio: ‘You Gotta Make It $25 Million’
President Donald Trump boasted at a fundraiser that he squeezed a major donor for way more money than the donor intended to give.
Audio of the exchange was obtained by the three co-authors – Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf – of 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. The authors appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The Source on CNN, where they discussed their new book and furnished audio for the network to air.
Host Kaitlan Collins aired a clip in which Trump bragged at a 2024 fundraiser about leaning on an unidentified donor to shell out more money:
He was worth four or five billion dollars. Most of it’s– half of it’s in cash. And he wants to have lunch with me over one million dollars. You know the guy. He wants to have lunch– I said, “You know, one million dollars is not a lot. You’re worth 5 or 6 billion dollars. You’re much richer than that.” I said, “You’re poor compared to some.” I said, “You’re worth 5 or 6 billion dollars. You’re talking about a million dollars and I gotta have lunch? I’m not having lunch. You gotta make it 25 million.”
And he said, “Oh, that sounds like a lot.” I said, “You got two and a half billion in f**king cash.” And he did it.
Collins suggested that Trump’s story – if true – might be a campaign finance violation.
“Some people, Josh, might hear that and think, is that a campaign finance violation?” Collins said. “Are we testing the boundaries of that? What stood out to you when you listened to that from a source?”
“Well, candidates aren’t allowed to solicit directly that much money,” Dawsey replied. “But what really stood out to me on that was how audacious Trump had become as a fundraiser.”
Candidates’ campaign committees may accept donations from individuals of up to $3,500 per election. If a donor wants to spend a much larger amount, such as $25 million, they may give the money to a super PAC that advocates on behalf of a candidate, or they may spend the money themselves. A PAC, however, may not coordinate with the candidate. And candidates may not solicit such money.
Watch above via CNN.
