Reclusive Jewish Mogul Stephen Feinberg Hosts Donald Trump Fundraiser
Donald Trump Image by Getty Images
Reclusive investment firm CEO Stephen A. Feinberg may be ready to dip his toe into the media frenzy surrounding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The New York Times reports Feinberg will be one of several high-profile financiers hosting a New York City fundraiser for the presumptive Republican nominee on Tuesday.
Feinberg, the media-shy founder of private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management — best known for its takeover of the struggling Chrysler company in 2007 — had not previously announced his support for Trump. However, prior to Trump announcing his candidacy last June, Feinberg donated $200,000 in March to the political action committee Right to Rise USA, which supported Jeb Bush.
Trump, who has claimed to be self-funding his presidential campaign, reached an agreement on joint-fundraising with the Republican National Committee in May. The agreement will allow larger donations of up to nearly half a million dollars that can be used in national campaign efforts or state-level races.
According to The New York Times, tickets for the dinner are running $50,000 a plate with some donating around $250,000.
In the year since Trump announced his candidacy for president, Trump’s campaign has raised nearly $60 million — though the most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission says the campaign has less than $3 million on-hand. About three-quarters of Trump’s campaign funding comprises loans made by the billionaire to his own campaign.
Unlike other presidential candidates, Trump has benefitted greatly from free media coverage, receiving an estimated $3 billion in free publicity according to MarketWatch.
However, last weekend the Trump campaign sent its first “emergency” fundraising plea in response to a large ad-buy from Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign targeting electoral swing states.
The email reflects the campaign’s changing attitude toward fundraising, which includes the May appointment of investment firm CEO Steven Mnuchin to head Trump’s national finance strategy. Monday’s firing of Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski also might reflect Trump’s dissatisfaction with fundraising efforts, which often fell under Lewandowski.
Adding to concerns over Trump’s recent statements targeting a U.S. federal judge and his response to the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, many Republican officials have said the Trump campaign has not built the vital state-level operations needed to win an election.
As more Republican officials have begun to voice their doubts about their presumptive nominee, some GOP convention delegates are planning to change party bylaws to allow them to vote for the candidate of their choice. Trump, who has called these plans “illegal,” has threatened to quit fundraising on behalf of the RNC if party officials do not get in line behind his candidacy.
The latest average of national polls by RealClearPolitics showed Monday that Clinton is polling six points above Trump, a gap which has been steadily growing since the beginning of the month.
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