The Donald Trump campaign’s massive $18 million, 24-hour fundraising haul this week was orchestrated by some of the biggest names in politics, Wall Street and philanthropy -- including New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and Hollywood producer Steve Mnuchin.
The campaign announced the total on Tuesday, the morning after the Republican nominee’s first presidential debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. In doing so, the campaign listed some of the influential figures involved in the billionaire businessman's accelerating fundraising.
About one-third of the money reportedly came in the form of relatively small, online donations. The remainder was solicited during a phone-calling blitz during which more than 100 top fundraisers went to Trump Tower in New York City to make calls.
“We had a massive fundraising day,” said Mnuchin, the Trump campaign’s finance chairman. “With this kind of energy and generous support behind us, we are going to have President Donald J. Trump in the White House.”
The campaign listed 26 of the fundraisers including Mnuchin, Trump and several top officials from the Republican National Committee.
Mnuchin led one of six teams in the effort, part of a larger joint-fundraising effort with the Republican National Committee known as the Trump Victory Committee.
The broader agreement allowed those making calls Tuesday to solicit as much as $450,000 per donor, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump, who essentially self-funded his primary campaign, has largely trailed Clinton in general election fundraising. Clinton last month, for example, raised $143 million, compared to $90 million for Trump.
Still, Trump and Clinton are essentially tied in most national polls.
Mnuchin, who followed his father as a partner at Goldman Sachs, joined the campaign as finance chairman this spring, facing the task of getting a bare-boned operation to at least compete with the Clinton fundraising juggernaut.
His finance and production company, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, is connected to such blockbusters as “The Devil Wears Prada” as well as the “X-Men” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series.
His fundraising team, MAGA (Make American Great Again) also included venture capitalist and GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy and Ray Washburne, a Trump Victory vice chairman and one of several Dallas-based investors.
The Yuuuge Team, a reference to one of Trump’s favorite campaign expressions, was led by Lew Eisenberg, Trump Victory’s finance chairman.
Eisenberg is a financier and investor with long, deep ties to Wall Street and Republican fundraising circles. He started on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs and in 2002 was the Republican National Committee’s finance chairman.
His political support and connections have come with several prestigious appointments including chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Johnson, the Jets owner, was among the first high-profile figures to back Trump. The businessman and philanthropist is the great-grandson of a Johnson & Johnson co-founder.
Others included Trump attorney Michael Cohen and financier and Fox News contributor Anthony Scaramucci.
Team Deplorable, a reference to what Clinton called half of Trump’s supporters, included financier Roy Bailey; Gentry Beach, a long-time Trump friend and another Dallas investor; and former Texas Rangers baseball team owner Tommy Hicks.
Trump joined running-mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, sons Eric and Donald Jr., and daughter Ivanka Trump on one of the other teams.
“We’re still going! Thank you America, #MAGA,” Trump tweeted after the announcement Tuesday.
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