Trump will not ask donors to repay $50 mln in loans

Most say Trump should cut business ties Trump welcomes Supreme Court ruling Key Dem: US-Iran relations may get worse before they get better MORE says he has forgiven more than $50 million in loans he made to his Republican primary campaign for president.

Trump’s campaign ended May with $1.2 million in cash on hand, compared with Clinton’s $42 million, according to Federal Election Commission reports released this week, prompting hand-wringing among some Republicans about whether Trump will effectively compete in the general election.

In forgiving the loans, Trump sent a major signal to Republican donors who were anxious that the real estate developer would use campaign contributions to reimburse himself.

Trump’s finance chair, Steve Mnuchin, confirmed the news to CNBC Thursday and added that Trump planned to give even more of his own money to the campaign.

By converting the loans into contributions, Trump is telling his supporters he will not seek repayment via contributions. Trump also raised another $6 million through online donations, Mnuchin said, following the wealthy NY businessman’s first attempt to appeal to supporters to contribute to his campaign.

Trump funded his campaign for the Republican nomination largely through his own personal wealth, putting money into his campaign in the form of loans. The former host of “The Apprentice” will be required to file a “loan forgiveness statement” the FEC.

Twitter started the #TrumpSoPoor after abysmal fundraising in May for the Trump campaign.

In his most recent campaign finance report, Trump had spent $1.1m, almost 20% of his overall spending in May, on businesses that he owned. On CNN, Eric Trump criticized Clinton’s operation as “bloated”.

Trump has also raised $6 million in mostly small donor online contributions since sending out his first email solicitation to supporters on Tuesday, Mnuchin said. Unlike some of his fellow GOP primary contenders, Cruz has yet to endorse the presumptive nominee.

“Unlike the all talk, no action politicians that have failed the American people for far too long, Mr. Trump is not beholden to the special interests that have corrupted Washington, D.C.”, the email continued. “So that is a contribution”, Mnuchin said. Trump did not have the fundraising infrastructure in place that Clinton or many of his opponents did.

S.V. Date contributed reporting.