Particularly concerning to some Republicans is that some of the new additions have not functioned as political fundraisers before. One is a friend of Gor and the son of Don Huffines, a major Republican donor. Another is New York socialite and Guilfoyle’s friend, Somers Farkas. People close to the operation acknowledge that Farkas was an unorthodox employee, but noted that he had spent years raising money for a variety of causes.
There is growing Republican concern that internal turmoil will hurt campaign fundraising. The task of guiding mid-level donors requires a high level of staff organization and coordination, reaching thousands of people who are neither mega-donors with bottomless bank accounts nor smaller taxpayers who are asked for a few hundred dollars maximum.
Those involved in the campaign describe Guilfoyle, 51, who took over as president of finance in February, as one of the president’s most tenacious fundraisers. The former Fox News presenter took on the difficult task of developing a traditional network of donors, something George W. Bush made famous with his “Pioneer” program, but which anti-establishment Trump has struggled to create. Supporters say it has come before a pandemic that has cooled the fundraising environment by cutting most donor events in person.
Campaign officials said the bundling program had raised about $ 73 million and that she had increased the network from about 1,000 in January to 6,500.
Guilfoyle’s unit is part of a massive Trump fundraising apparatus. His department raises money for Trump Victory, a joint account between the reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee. While the Guilfoyle team is primarily responsible for collecting $ 2,800 checks, the committee focuses on collecting donations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. There’s also the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which sucks up small dollar contributions.
“Kimberly is one of the president’s strongest and most hardworking advocates, and she is lucky that she fights in her corner,” said Ronna McDaniel, RNC president.
House of Representatives minority leader Kevin McCarthy said: “When it comes to raising valuable resources and connecting with voters, Kimberly Guilfoyle is hosting a master class.”
But Guilfoyle has upset the other finance staff members by claiming what they consider to be their reluctance to share credit for the successes. Trump this week organized a “virtual” fundraiser that raised $ 20 million largely from small-dollar donors who donated online, an operation Guilfoyle doesn’t oversee on a day-to-day basis. Guilfoyle hosted the event and interviewed Trump during the broadcast. But in the days that followed, attendees expressed their annoyance at a later-issued press release that quoted Guilfoyle but did not mention anyone else who helped organize the effort.
While establishing a clustering network was always going to be difficult for Trump after his frontal assault on party establishment, people involved in the campaign say there is still an imperative that any incumbent president maximize donations across the board, and a Acknowledgment that, with Biden well ahead in the polls, every penny will count.
Some remain upset by a recent pro-Israel-focused fundraising event. The campaign signed the ticket plans for the event, which coincided with the anniversary of Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, to make them available to donors for $ 1,000. But Guilfoyle’s team began distributing tickets to some donors for $ 150, causing confusion.
People familiar with Guilfoyle’s decision say she wanted the fundraiser to be a low-cost grassroots event, allowing more people to participate. But others expressed concern that the event raised less money than it could have and were concerned that some donors had to pay more than others to participate.
There are also questions about expenses. In March, two employees opted not to fly commercials and instead took the private jet from a major Trump donor to the President’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a financial event. The campaign had to reimburse the cost of approximately $ 25,000.
Trump campaign officials were upset when they realized they would pay the flight bill. Employees in the reelection effort are generally expected to book trips on an internal office database and use low-cost commercial flights.
Guilfoyle herself has used private jets to travel to and from fundraisers. But people close to her argued that it amounted to a small sum since events often generate millions of dollars. They added that the logistics of traveling to multiple fundraisers in such a short time makes business travel unrealistic.
People close to Guilfoyle say that while his style is not for everyone, his staff greatly appreciates it.
In response to questions about this story, the campaign provided statements from members of the finance team who lavished praise on Guilfoyle. Maggie Mulvaney, director of financial operations, said the group is “united behind the leadership of Kimberly Guilfoyle.” We are a team and we have a singular purpose of victory for President Trump. “
