Trump's campaign reports raising $331 million in year's 2nd quarter, beating Biden's haul

NEW YORK -- NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump 's campaign says it outraised President Joe Biden in the year's second quarter, with a reported haul of $331 million.

That number bests the $264 million that Biden's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee reported raising over the same period earlier Tuesday, eliminating Biden's cash advantage and potentially undercutting Biden's efforts to calm fears within his party after last week’s disastrous debate performance, which has prompted calls for him to step aside.

Trump's total includes $111.8 million that the campaign says it raised in June. That sum is less than the $127 million Biden reported raising last month, which includes more than $33 million on the day of the debate and in its aftermath.

But Trump's campaign reports that it ended the quarter with $284.9 million cash on hand, compared with $240 million reported by Biden.

“President Trump’s campaign fundraising operation is thriving day after day and month after month," Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement, which noted that the Biden campaign's far higher spending on advertising has not seemed to move the needle.

“This fundraising momentum is likely to grow even more as we head into a world-class convention and see the Democrats continue their circular firing squad in the aftermath of Biden’s debate collapse,” they added.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez had called his totals “a testament to the committed and growing base of supporters standing firmly behind the president.”