Trump raises $8 million at Orlando-area fundraiser, attorney Dan Newlin says

WINDERMERE — Donald Trump raised more than $8 million at a campaign fundraiser held by Dan Newlin at his home near Windermere on Wednesday night, the prominent Orlando attorney said.

“The streets of Keene’s Pointe were lined with enthusiastic supporters, and their unwavering presence extended all the way down [State Road] 535,” Newlin said Thursday.

The event was part of a string of fundraisers designed to help Trump close the money gap with the Biden campaign. The Biden campaign listed $71 million cash on hand in March in its latest Federal Election Commission filing, more than twice what the Trump campaign had brought in.

“The money we are raising is historic,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “… It’s a stark contrast to Trump’s cash-strapped operation that is funneling the limited and billionaire-reliant funds it has to pay off his various legal fees.”

Biden’s campaign reported it raised $25 million from a fundraiser in New York late last month featuring his Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, while the Trump campaign said it amassed a record $50.5 million haul from an event in Palm Beach on Saturday.

Newlin acknowledged the current money gap, adding that “President Biden may raise more money but President Trump will get more votes.”

Trump flew into Orlando International Airport directly from another fundraiser in Atlanta that had been expected to take in about $5 million.

At the exclusive Keene’s Pointe gated community, Orange County deputy sheriffs were stationed outside the entrance, where only residents were allowed in.

Along S.R. 535, Trump flags flew from cars parked along the road, which garnered some honks in support.

It was Trump’s first visit to Central Florida since he spoke at the state Republican Party’s Freedom Summit in Kissimmee in November.

Republican State Rep. Carolina Amesty, who represents the area, lined the road with signs, including a van emblazoned with her photo parked across the street from the neighborhood entrance. She was scheduled to hold a fundraiser with Donald Trump Jr. on Thursday.

Newlin’s neighborhood is in a precinct President Joe Biden won in 2020 by a 5.6% margin, an improvement for the Democratic candidate from 2016 when Hillary Clinton and Trump were essentially tied. Biden won Orange County by 23 points four years ago.

Guests invited to the Windermere event were asked to raise or contribute $824,600 to be a top-level “host committee” contributor, according to an event flyer. Photo opportunities were available for $25,000 per person, and a reception at the home was open to those who gave $5,000.

At a donor event in South Florida last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly told supporters he would help his former presidential primary rival Trump with fundraising. But DeSantis said last month that he didn’t think he would need to appear with Trump in Florida because the state was reliably Republican, despite Trump winning it by just less than 3.5 points in 2020.

Orlando attorney Dan Newlin defends wearing MAGA hat in Super Bowl ad

Newlin, who recently donned a Make America Great Again hat in a Super Bowl ad for his firm, told the Orlando Sentinel last week he was “an unwavering supporter of President Trump since the moment he descended down the escalator, announcing his first run for president.”

He said his endorsement was personal and unrelated to his law firm, Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys.