Press Disinvited From Trump 2020 Fundraiser

With a mere 40 months to go until the 2020 re-election, President Trump has started trying to refill the campaign coffers. Republican National Committee officials say around $10 million was raised at a Trump fundraising event at one of his own hotels Wednesday, where ticket prices started at $35,000, the BBC reports. Attendees at the Trump International Hotel a few blocks from the White House included casino mogul Steve Wynn, who's the lead fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, reports the AP. The money raised will be split between Trump's campaign, the RNC, and other Republican entities.

In what CNN reports was a break from tradition, the press was barred from the event. The event was originally listed as closed to the press, but deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said White House press pool reporters would be allowed in. She did a U-turn on that Wednesday, saying, "There was some confusion with the RNC, and due to the logistical challenges, bringing in the press at this late moment is not going to be possible." Sources say Trump spoke for around two hours, with topics including "fake news" and the string of Republican victories in special elections. The AP notes that to stay on the right side of campaign finance laws, Trump's campaign would have had to pay for use of the hotel. (More President Trump stories.)