Trump raises $ 170 million as he denies his loss and keeps an eye on the future

President Trump has raised around $ 170 million since election day as his campaign continued to aggressively seek donations with hyped appeals that funded his unsuccessful attempts to topple the election and, according to one person, established his post-president political ambitions got familiar with the matter.

The money, much of which the person said was raised in the first week after the election, has arrived as Mr Trump made false claims of fraud and tried to gain public confidence in the legitimacy of President-elect Joseph R. Biden undermine Jr.’s victory.

Rather than slowing down after the election, Mr Trump’s campaign has increased the volume of email requests for cash, telling supporters that money is needed for an “election defense fund”.

In reality, the fine print shows that the first 75 percent of every post is currently going to a new political action committee that Mr. Trump set up in mid-November, Save America, which can be used to fund his future political activities, including staff and travel. The other 25 percent of every donation goes to the Republican National Committee.

A donor must give Mr. Trump’s new PAC $ 5,000 before any money is transferred to his recount account.

Even so, the Trump campaign continues to urgently call for cash. On Monday, Mr Trump signed a campaign email breathlessly telling supporters that late November – almost four weeks after election day – was “our MOST IMPORTANT deadline ever”.

The Washington Post reported the previous Monday, Mr. Trump’s by-election efforts had raised more than $ 150 million. Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Mr. Trump’s campaign, declined to comment on the fundraiser.

The $ 170 million figure raised in less than four weeks is an enormous sum that rivals the amounts raised at the height of the campaign. Although a breakdown of the money wasn’t immediately available, the spate of donations appears to have paid off any remaining Trump campaign debt (in the first few days after the election, the fine print indicated contributions were earmarked for that purpose). The money should also give Mr Trump a sizable financial head start in paying for his post-presidency political activities.

Despite the inflow of funds, both the Trump campaign and the R.N.C. have reduced the size of their employees since the election.

In October, Mr Trump’s campaign automatically began ticking a box on his website to have more donors make additional weekly donations from their accounts to a source of income by December 14th – the day the electoral college will vote To create choice. Donors can opt out with an additional click, but critics have called the tactic misleading.

Mr Trump’s team formed the Political Action Committee known as the PAC for Executives to track the inflow of funds after the election, according to people familiar with the matter.

Currently, donors are enabled on Mr. Trump’s website with a pre-selected check box to make monthly contributions.

Rob Flaherty, who served as Mr. Biden’s digital director, said on twitter that the huge sums Mr. Trump has raised since the election have been “plain and simple”.

On Monday, Arizona and Wisconsin, two major battlefields that Mr Biden flipped this year, confirmed their election results and formalized Mr Biden’s victory as Mr Trump and his allies continued to complain with no evidence of fraud.