NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump raised an estimated $5 million at a fundraiser in New York on Tuesday night - money that will benefit the Republican Party and his 2020 re-election campaign.
Trump headlined the fundraising dinner at the upscale Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan, which drew about 150 people paying as much as $250,000 per couple, said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Cassie Smedile. Reporters were not allowed to hear any portion of the president’s remarks to donors - a break from the protocol of Trump’s predecessor.
Tickets for the dinner cost $35,000 per couple, or $100,000 for VIP access. Trump also participated in a smaller roundtable discussion with donors who’d paid $250,000 per couple to attend.
Trump’s brief trip back to Manhattan included a stop at the United Nations to meet with the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, and other U.S. diplomatic officials.
In video of the visit posted on his Twitter feed, Trump described Haley as “a very special person” and urged members of her team and their families to “take good care” of her.
He also told those gathered: “We’re going to do things like the world has never even dreamed of. We’re going to do it through the United Nations, too.”
Trump also spent last week in his home town, attending events and meeting with world leaders as part of the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Trump has a complicated relationship with many Republican leaders, but worked closely with the RNC during his general election campaign.
The RNC has also paid nearly $200,000 in legal fees for Trump’s eldest son in connection with the ongoing Russia investigation. As of mid-July, Trump’s presidential campaign had spent almost $1 million on legal fees this year, according to a campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. That included a $50,000 charge to the law firm of Donald Trump Jr.’s attorney, Alan Futerfas.
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