Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said at his campaign event on Thursday that he raised $6 million for veterans thanks in part to a laundry list of wealthy friends.
Trump read a list of names of people who had donated for about 15 to 20 minutes. The real estate mogul frequently interrupted himself to go on tangents about how good his friends were to him and how he didn’t accept millions of dollars for his own campaign’s use because he was self-funding his road to the White House.
He was also interrupted at one point by a protestor who the crowd drowned out with chants of “USA!” Trump said he “loved protests” because they allowed the media to show off the crowd size, then continued reading off his list.
Trump said Treasure Island casino owner Phil Ruffin, who Trump suggested could negotiate with China in his administration, and his wife Oleksandra Nikolayenko donated $1 million. Both joined the real estate mogul onstage.
Trump said Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter and his wife, Laura, also gave $1 million. A “very, very rich man in New York” who wanted to remain anonymous gave $1 million, and Trump said he himself, “a really great builder in New York and now a politician,” gave another $1 million.
The billionaire said that a list of the veterans organizations that would receive the donations was available in-person at the event.
