Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee announced late Tuesday they’ve reached an agreement to have him raise money for the party, breaking the candidate’s previous stance against active fundraising for his political campaign.
The agreement means individual donors can give up to $449,400 — or, for a couple, nearly $900,000 — to help the GOP this year.
Mr. Trump had previously eschewed soliciting those kinds of high-dollar contributions, arguing it made candidates beholden to the donors’ wishes. He lodged that charge against all of his opponents in the Republican primary, proclaiming himself the only one above suspicion.
He didn’t address his reversal Tuesday, instead trumpeting the agreement.
“We are pleased to have this partnership in place with the national party,” he said in a statement issued by his campaign and the party that did not sound like the usual rhetoric from the billionaire businessman. “By working together with the RNC to raise support for Republicans everywhere, we are going to defeat Hillary Clinton, keep Republican majorities in Congress and in the states, and Make America Great Again.”
Mr. Trump did not say whether he will also begin soliciting donations for his own campaign.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said Mr. Trump will now have access to the digital and ground operations the national party has been building for four years — considered critical to matching the political machine President Obama built for his 2012 re-election.
The two sides signed a series of joint fundraising agreements, which under campaign finance laws mean he can help raise money for national and state GOP committees. The states that are part of the new deal, known as the Trump Victory fund and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, are Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The combination of donations to all of those, plus the RNC itself, comes to $449,400.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.