LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Kimberly Guilfoyle, who chairs the Trump Victory fundraising committee, told Breitbart News on Wednesday morning that the president will “revolutionize” campaign bundling by expanding it to small-dollar donors.
“It’s about making it accessible to everybody, she said, explaining her new fundraising effort. “We’re leveling the playing field — whether you’re a billionaire or a small-dollar bundler, we’re all in his fight together.”
Guilfoyle spoke to Breitbart News after a fundraising event in the lobby of the Trump Hotel, where President Donald Trump made an unexpected appearance on his way out of the building, as hundreds of supporters — as well as dozens of tourists and curious onlookers — heard him give an impromptu speech.
“Bundling” refers to the practice of recruiting other donors. Typically, “bundlers” are wealthy people who are connected to other people. Though each individual, including the bundler, can only contribute up to the maximum allowable federal limit ($2800 in each phase of the 2020 election cycle), bundlers may be responsible for brining tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars into a campaign.
But the Trump Victory committee — a joint effort between the president’s campaign, the Republican National Committee, and several state Republican Party fundraising committees — is trying a new approach, Guilfoyle said, by expanding “bundling” to small-dollar donors as well.
“We’re going to change bundling,” she said, “and revolutionize it in the way President Trump has done things in a different way.”
The idea, Guilfoyle explained, is to invite Trump supporters to reach out to four or five friends — or “frenemies,” she joked — and ask them to contribute $50 or even $15 each.
That will allow small-dollar donors to “get a foot in door,” she said, allowing them into the traditionally cloistered world of political fundraising — “breaking down the wall of how politics were run before.”
The idea is to harness the enthusiasm of Trump supporters beyond simply attending a rally, and to bring them more fully into the 2020 effort, allowing them to feel a sense of pride and ownership.
At the Las Vegas event, for example, small-dollar donors rubbed shoulders with high rollers — and were treated to a surprise speech by the president himself.
The Trump Victory committee registered 500 new bundlers at the event, Guilfoyle said.
She added that she hoped “grass roots bundling” would not only bring in more money for the 2020 election, but also help turn out the vote.
“Somebody who has skin in the game is more likely to show up on Election Day and Vote,” she said.
The effort is also utilizing various coalitions — “Women for Trump,” “Black Voices for Trump,” “Jewish Americans for Trump,” and so on — as part of the effort.
“President Trump has been the great equalizer,” Guilfoyle said. “Everybody has been able to get a taste and a feel of the American presidency.”
That egalitarian spirit, she said, was reflected in the Trump Victory committee’s small-dollar bundling effort.
“We’re creating a grass roots political movement that showcases the support the president has from everyday, working-class Americans from all walks of life.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.