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Trump dwarfs Biden in latest fundraising numbers in show of political force after felony convictions

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Trump dwarfs Biden in latest fundraising numbers in show of political force after felony convictions

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s campaign outraised President Joe Biden by more than $60 million last month, according to federal filings made public Thursday that detailed the Republican fundraising explosion sparked by Trump’s felony convictions.

Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in May and reported $212 million in the bank at the end of the month. The strong showing does not include roughly $40 million raised by Biden and his top surrogates in recent days — or a separate $20 million donation from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pro-Biden groups.

Still, Trump’s fundraising for, for one month at least, seemed to dwarf Biden’s.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee said it raised a jaw-dropping $141 million in May, including tens of millions donated immediately after Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in the New York hush money case. At the same time, billionaire Timothy Mellon, donated a stunning $50 million to a pro-Trump super PAC the day after Trump’s guilty verdict, according to filings made public Thursday.

Trump’s campaign declined to report how much money it had in the bank at the end of May, prompting Biden’s campaign to question whether the groups were still spending heavily to cover Trump’s legal fees.

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“Our strong and consistent fundraising program grew by millions of people in May, a clear sign of strong and growing enthusiasm for the president and vice president every single month,” said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “The money we continue to raise matters, and it’s helping the campaign build out an operation that invests in reaching and winning the voters who will decide this election –- a stark contrast to Trump’s PR stunts and photo-ops that he’s pretending is a campaign.

What to know about the 2024 Election

Taken together, the numbers detailed in the campaigns’ latest Federal Election Commission filings suggest that Democrats may still maintain a cash advantage in the 2024 presidential contest. But almost four months before Election Day, Trump’s side is closing the gap — if it isn’t closed already.

The new fundraising figures also underscore the extent to which the rules of presidential politics are being re-written in the Trump era.

At almost any other time in U.S. history, a presidential candidate would have been forced to leave an election after being convicted of dozens of felonies. But in 2024, Trump’s guilty verdict has instead fueled a massive fundraising surge that puts his team in a position to ramp up advertising and swing state infrastructure just as voters begin paying closer attention to the election.

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Backed by Mellon’s massive donation, the pro-Trump super PAC known as MAGA Inc. reserved $3.5 million in television advertising set to begin July 3 across Georgia and Pennsylvania on Thursday, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Overall, the group reported a $68.8 million haul for May, ending the month with $93.7 million in the bank.

Mellon has been among the biggest donors to Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., although his support for Kennedy may be fading.

Kennedy raised $2.6 million last month and finished May with $6.4 million in the bank. The vast majority of his fundraising total came from running mate Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer. The Kennedy campaign spent more than it raised for the month.

The numbers reported on Thursday did not include anything raised in June, including roughly $40 million raised by Biden and his top surrogates in recent days. The vast majority came from a glitzy fundraiser last Saturday with movie stars and former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles that raised more than $30 million. First lady Jill Biden also has been on her own personal fundraising swing that has brought in $1.5 million.

Meanwhile, Biden also got a big boost from Bloomberg.

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The billionaire philanthropist, who briefly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, sent $19 million to the pro-Biden group Future Forward in addition to sending the legal maximum of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, according to a person familiar with the transfers.

Bloomberg also formally endorsed Biden on Thursday. “I stood with Joe Biden in 2020, and I am proud to do so again,” Bloomberg said in a statement.

The Biden campaign said that the vast majority of its latest fundraising came from grassroots donors such as nurses, teachers and retirees. Overall, the Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee attracted more than three million new donors last month, according to a statement from the campaign.

“While Trump is leaching off his billionaire sycophants, our campaign represents the voices of America, and we’re honored to have their support as we race toward November,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said.

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AP writer Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed.

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Iran warns European countries will be ‘legitimate targets’ if they join conflict

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Iran warns European countries will be ‘legitimate targets’ if they join conflict

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An Iranian official warned that any European countries that enter the conflict against Iran will become “legitimate targets” for Tehran’s retaliation. 

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi made the remark to France24 as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday apologized to neighboring countries that have been attacked by the regime. 

“We have already informed the Europeans and everybody else that they should be careful not to be involved in this war of aggression against Iran,” Takht-Ravanchi told the network. “If they help, I’m not trying to name any country, but if any country joins in the aggression against Iran, joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely they will be also the legitimate targets for Iranian retaliation.” 

“This war has imposed on us, and we will continue to defend ourselves to the best of our abilities,” he added. “We have an obligation to defend our people and that is what exactly we are doing.”

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Then-Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi speaks to the media outside Security Council chambers at the U.N. headquarters in New York, on June 24, 2019.  (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Takht-Ravanchi also claimed Iran was “negotiating in good faith” in talks with the U.S. about its nuclear program, before America launched Operation Epic Fury and Israel began Operation Roaring Lion on Feb. 28. 

“We are sincere. We are sincere in our endeavor to arrive at a peaceful conclusion of this issue,” he told France24. 

AFTER THE STRIKES, HOW WOULD THE US SECURE IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM?

A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station struck during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

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Pezeshkian said Saturday that any future attacks coming out of Iran would only be in response to attacks against the country. 

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”

Damage is seen in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 3, 2026, following an Iranian missile barrage. (Nir Elias/Reuters)

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Pezeshkian made the apology during a prerecorded televised speech on Saturday after Iran launched repeated strikes on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman. 

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Despite the vow, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that the country’s air defense systems intercepted 16 ballistic missiles, 15 of which were destroyed while one fell into the sea.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Gulf states intercept hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones, issue joint condemnation with US
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Israel kills father, daughter in Gaza as genocide continues amid wider war

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Israel kills father, daughter in Gaza as genocide continues amid wider war

A father and his daughter have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in central Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as Palestinians continue to suffer amid worldwide attention on the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

The two were killed early on Saturday. In a separate attack later in the day in Khan Younis, another person was killed and a young girl wounded, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.

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Israeli forces continue carrying out air strikes, artillery shelling, and naval bombardment on Gaza on a daily basis, despite an October 11 “ceasefire” as Israel continues its ongoing genocide.

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Suffering in Gaza and the occupied West Bank remains acute as the world focuses on the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

In the past 48 hours, two additional people have been wounded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israeli army-affiliated militias, meanwhile, have advanced east of Gaza City, with heavy gunfire reported in the area. Initial reports also stated a member of the Palestinian police was abducted.

Israeli warplanes also struck several locations east of the Tuffah neighbourhood, near Gaza City, while the Israeli navy fired heavy machineguns and shells towards the coast of Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Rafah border crossing, meanwhile, remains closed. Israel had shut it amid its attacks on Iran.

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The Rafah crossing, located on Gaza’s southern border, had reopened only last month allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for the first time in months, including patients in urgent need of medical care. Thousands remain blocked from travelling for treatment.

The Karem Abu Salem crossing, also known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, is partially open for the entry of humanitarian aid only, under strict restrictions.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people was displaced during Israel’s war on the territory, and the enclave remains heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance.

In a February report, Human Rights Watch said Israeli restrictions had contributed to shortages of medicine, reconstruction materials, food and water inside the Strip.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza, 640 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded, according to the Health Ministry. At least 72,123 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while 171,805 people have been injured.

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Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported its teams in Hebron are treating a Palestinian injured by live fire near the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement, built on Palestinian land north of Hebron.

Three Palestinians were also injured on Saturday after being physically assaulted by Israeli settlers in the Ras al-Ahmar area, south of Tubas, Wafa reported. Medical sources at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said their teams responded to three people with injuries.

Israeli forces also conducted raids in the towns of Qaffin and Kafr al-Labad, north of Tulkarem, early on Saturday, Wafa said.

A Palestinian man was also injured after being assaulted by Israeli soldiers near the village of Azmut, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinians have faced a wave of intensified Israeli military and settler violence across the West Bank since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.

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At least 1,094 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.

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Video: How the War in Iran Is Disrupting the World’s Oil

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Video: How the War in Iran Is Disrupting the World’s Oil
Our business reporter Peter Eavis looks at the global implications of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway to the south of Iran. He analyzes ship activity in the strait, comparing it before and after the United States and Israel initiated attacks on Iran.

By Peter Eavis, Sutton Raphael, Leila Medina, Stephanie Swart, Blacki Migliozzi, Christiaan Triebert, Keith Collins, Jacqueline Gu and Rebecca F. Elliott

March 6, 2026

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