During a donor fundraising campaign held in California last week, former President Donald Trump told the crowd that he is currently seeking his third election victory.
To the cheering crowd, Trump, who is currently about 45 points ahead of the rest of the Republican party’s primary voters, said the 2020 election was “rigged.”
“I won three times, but I don’t want to take credit for the second one because what a mess they made,” Trump declared before a crowd of listeners at the Beverly Hills home of billionaire real estate developer Geoff Palmer.
“They used COVID to manipulate it,” he declared, referring to the movement by Democratic politicians to eliminate voter ID cards at the ballot box.
Trump’s commitment to his belief that the 2020 election was stolen from him has led to extremely mixed reactions from the Republican Party and the general electorate.
Friday night’s fundraiser was organized by billionaire real estate developer and former Trump backer Geoffrey Palmer (left), pictured here with his wife Anne Emerich Palmer
Among loyal followers, the claim generally draws public applause, but among those who hope the party and the country are ready to move on from the messy battle caused by the 2020 presidential election, the claim generates less enthusiasm.
On Friday night, Trump used the claim as a jumping off point to discuss the range of other problems currently facing the country, which he hopes to solve during a second term in the Oval Office.
“This is bigger,” he said, referring to the 2024 election. “It’s much bigger than if we did it in a more traditional way,” meaning he had served two consecutive terms in the White House.
He continued, saying his potential second chance as president would be “greater” because of the contrast between his administration’s policies and those of the current administration.
Trump then complained about the poor economy, comparing it to the “greatest economy in the history of the world,” which existed for the US during his presidency.
“We have a bad economy right now,” he said. “People can no longer sell houses, they can no longer buy houses.”
Friday night’s fundraiser took place at billionaire Palmer’s LA estate. Palmer is one of Trump’s earliest and largest donors. He previously donated more than $5 million to Trump’s 2016 election efforts, and has donated millions more since.
There were invitations to Friday night’s soiree Reportedly expanded to individuals willing to contribute $100,000 or more to a super PAC in support of the Trump campaign.
The deep-pocketed crowd heard the former president discuss a round of new polls released last week that clearly put Trump ahead of the rest of the pack.
Trump described the polls as “through the roof” but assured his audience that his team is “not playing preemptive defense,” meaning the campaign will continue to charge full steam ahead through the primary battle.
Trump spoke to a crowd of deep-pocketed California donors at a fundraiser hosted by billionaire real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer
Trump, who is polling many, many points ahead of his closest Republican rival, was in California last week, speaking to donors and the California Republican Party
Last week, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich claimed that the Republican Party’s primaries are all but over, following a second debate where Donald Trump was a no-show.
“I think the Republican National Committee should cancel the future debates and say, ‘Look, we recognize the objective fact that Trump will be the nominee. We want to work with him,” Gingrich told Fox.
Polls show Trump with a wide lead over the seven candidates who took the stage last Wednesday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.
Gingrich, who supported Trump in 2016 and led the House of Representatives’ “Republican Revolution” that helped prepare Trump’s war against the establishment, said he had spoken with Republican pollster Matt Towery, who had urged Trump to to participate in that cycle.
“Matt said to me, based on what he saw last night, this race is over, Donald Trump will be the nominee, they might as well stop having the various debates because they’re not working, they’re not helping anyone, and I think that’s where we are right now,” Gingrich said.
“I think Trump will be the nominee and the question for everyone now is: Do you want to see Joe Biden re-elected or do you want to help Donald Trump? There’s no middle ground here, I guess.’
As Trump meets with megadonors in California, other members of the Republican donor class may be plotting something else.
Last week, CBS’ Bob Costas raised eyebrows when he reported that Thomas Peterffy, an Austrian-American billionaire, has called on his allies to discuss the possibility of supporting Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin should he enter the race .
Youngkin’s donors reportedly plan to gather Oct. 17-18 at the “Red Vest Retreat” — named after Youngkin’s signature campaign uniform — in Virginia Beach with plans to challenge the governor in the 2024 race pushing,” Costa said, as they “grow.” desperate to beat Trump.”
Gingrich rejected that idea, saying Youngkin could be a top candidate or even the top contender in 2028, but not now.
“I guess the money is there, but the votes are not,” Gingrich said.
He said Youngkin could be the frontrunner in four years: “But not this time, not this year.”