Maddow Blog | Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 6.21.24

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* For several months, President Joe Biden’s re-election operation enjoyed a sizable financial advantage over Donald Trump’s operation. The Republican base’s response to his felony conviction has gone a long way toward evening the scales.

* In related news, Timothy Mellon, a secretive heir to a Gilded Age fortune, donated $50 million a few weeks ago to a super PAC supporting Trump’s candidacy. It’s one of the largest campaign contributions in the history of the United States.

* Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated nearly $20 million to support Biden’s re-election campaign. That’s a significant sum, of course, but to have a real impact, the billionaire will have to write several more — and larger — checks.

* In a surprise move, Trump told a group of Silicon Valley investors this week that he would, in a second term, give green cards to foreign-born students who graduate from American universities. The former president’s campaign team walked that position back soon after.

* In light of the Republicans’ recent fixation on “cheapfake” videos characterizing Biden as addled, the Biden campaign released a new montage yesterday of Trump "getting confused, lost, wandering off, and waving to nobody."

* In Maryland, former Gov. Larry Hogan said yesterday that he didn’t seek — and doesn’t want — Trump’s support for his Republican U.S. Senate candidacy. Hogan nevertheless received the former president’s backing.

* In New York, the latest Siena College survey found Biden leading Trump, 47% to 39%, which is a far closer margin than the Democrat’s advantage in the Empire State in the 2020 race.

* Responding to some scuttlebutt about his electoral future, Republican Sen. James Lankford denied interest in Oklahoma’s 2026 gubernatorial race, calling recent reporting “fake news.”

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com