Bloomberg has given nearly $20 million to Biden reelection efforts

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated nearly $20 million to support President Joe Biden's reelection efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter. This substantial contribution comes as Biden's fundraising lags behind that of his opponent, Donald Trump.

Bloomberg, who transitioned from Republican to independent and then faced Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, made the maximum allowable donation of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund. Additionally, he donated $19 million to Future Forward (FF PAC), the primary super PAC promoting Biden’s reelection, as per a source close to the donation.

Future Forward, with the approval of Biden’s top aides, has allocated $250 million for TV and digital ads in key battleground states from the Democratic Convention in August until Election Day.

Bloomberg’s contributions were first reported by The Washington Post. During the 2020 campaign, Bloomberg heavily invested in supporting Biden in Florida, although Biden lost the state to Trump.

In contrast, Trump received a significant boost in May with a $50 million donation to his campaign’s super PAC from Timothy Mellon, a banking heir. This donation constituted the bulk of the $68.8 million raised by the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC in May and is funding a $100 million advertising campaign over the summer.

Mellon, having donated $100 million to super PACs backing presidential candidates, is a major financial player in the 2024 election. Before his latest contribution, Mellon had given $25 million each to pro-Trump and pro-Robert F. Kennedy Jr. super PACs.

Bloomberg, who co-founded Bloomberg L.P., joined the 2020 Democratic race late, promoting a moderate vision and emphasizing problem-solving. After ending his presidential campaign, he endorsed Biden, stating his primary goal was to defeat Trump.

Biden, who led Trump financially for much of the 2024 campaign cycle, has recently fallen behind. Biden and the Democratic Party raised $85 million in May, while Trump’s political operation collected $141 million, significantly bolstered by donations following his May 30 conviction in New York for falsifying business records.

Despite this, Biden's campaign reported a substantial $212 million cash reserve entering June, while Trump’s main campaign account had $116.5 million as of May 31. This marks a shift from the previous month when Biden had a $35 million cash advantage.

CNN’s Fredreka Schouten, David Wright, and Alex Leeds Matthews contributed to this report.