Donald Trump announced Thursday that he’s forgiving the millions he’s loaned to his own campaign, calling it a contribution “made in order to ‘Make America Great Again.'”
In a written statement, the presumptive GOP nominee said he would not be requiring the campaign to pay him back. The total loan amounted to $46.1 million by the end of May 31, according to the most recent financial records available.
The announcement comes in a week dominated by headlines about his lagging fundraising numbers behind those of Hillary Clinton. His financial report this weekend showed he had $1.3 million on hand as of the end of May, a report that only included about a week of active fundraising by Trump and his associated committees.
Amid concerns about his fundraising abilities, Trump has vowed that he’d be willing to self-fund his general election campaign, as well, if he needs to. Donors have repeatedly voiced concerns about whether Trump would use donations to repay his loans.
But Trump and his joint fundraising committee have raised at least $11 million since Tuesday morning, Republicans said Wednesday, from online contributions and in-person fundraisers. Details of the June fundraising efforts must be reported to the Federal Election Commission by July 20.
“After self-funding his primary election, Mr. Trump and the campaign have assembled an exceptional fundraising operation, which in recent days has been overwhelmed with contributions for the Republican Party,” his campaign said in a statement announcing the loan forgiveness. “Mr. Trump will continue to ensure the campaign has all of the resources necessary to defeat Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in November.”
