Faced with sagging fundraising numbers, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign on Friday appealed to supporters and admitted it was wrong in assuming Donald Trump couldn’t possibly win a general election contest.
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told supporters in an email that the campaign took for granted that donations would pick up once a Clinton vs. Trump November match-up became certain.
Instead, the campaign says fundraising numbers in May have dropped, and the Clinton operation’s assumption that voters would reject Mr. Trump have been proven wrong.
“One assumption seemed pretty safe: That if we were to wind up running against Donald Trump, our supporters, especially our grassroots donors, would be so horrified that they’d step up big time. It’s now been three weeks since Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, and the fact is that isn’t happening yet,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in the email.
“Don’t get me wrong — you’ve been amazing,” he continued. “But for the time being, our fundraising is actually DOWN slightly from where it was in April. I don’t know if it’s that you think we don’t need the money yet (we do), or that Trump couldn’t possibly win (he really, really could), or if you’re just exhausted from a long primary (I don’t blame you!) — but whatever your reasons are, I am personally asking you to get up off the bench and help make sure the most extreme, erratic presidential nominee in history never makes it to the White House.”
Recent general-election polls have shown Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump competitive nationwide, and some surveys actually have shown the New York businessman virtually even or slightly ahead in key battleground states such as Ohio and Florida.
Mrs. Clinton in recent weeks has turned all of her attention to Mr. Trump and is all but ignoring her lingering primary battle against Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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