By Steve Holland
MIAMI (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is expected to raise $10 million on Friday during a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by the chief executive of a snack company in coronavirus-stricken Florida, according to a Republican official.
The in-person fundraiser, hosted by Troy Link, chief executive officer of Wisconsin-based Link Snacks Inc, comes after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden outraised Trump for two consecutive months. The former vice president banked $141 million in June, according to his campaign, topping Trump’s $131 million haul.
Both candidates have largely ditched in-person fundraising during the coronavirus pandemic, though Trump has shown he is eager to return to more a more traditional campaign routine.
Coronavirus cases have surged in Florida, which reported an additional 11,433 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 244,151 across the state.
Biden said in an emailed statement Trump was using his Florida trip “as a photo-op and a distraction from his failures,” as coronavirus cases in the state rise and the economy crumbles.
Trump also used his South Florida trip not only to raise money but to appeal to Latino voters.
“This election coming up is a very important one,” he said at an event with several supporters of Cuban and Venezuelan origin. He said Biden would adopt the type of socialist policies that pose hardships for Venezuelans under the rule of Nicholas Maduro.
Biden on Friday slammed Trump’s “stated willingness to sit down with Maduro” and his administration’s efforts to revive deportations for some Venezuelans currently allowed in the United States.
(Reporting By Steve Holland. Jarrett Renshaw contributed to this report; Editing by David Gregorio)
