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Biden, Trump Campaigns Set Fundraising Records in June

Australian PM Walks Middle Path on Post-Virus Support

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned against creating a dependency on COVID-19 support measures as economists urge the government to continue welfare schemes. The Grattan Institute has recommended the government spend between $70 billion and $90 billion on extra economic stimulus measures. The International Monetary Fund is calling for a gradual exit from support programs, with public investment to accelerate the recovery. Morrison says economists vary across the spending spectrum. “They want us to spend nothing and they want us to spend everything – the truth is going to be somewhere in the middle,” he said on July 2. He said the government would not let dependence on support stop businesses, and the federal budget, from bouncing back. “That will cost jobs and livelihoods,” Morrison said. “The other thing is,…

Biden, Trump Campaigns Set Fundraising Records in June

The 2020 presidential campaigns and fundraising committees of Joe Biden and President Donald Trump each raised the most money in a single month since their inception.

The Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and their joint fundraising committees raised $141 million in June, according to a press release. The Trump campaign and its committees raised $131 million during the same month.

While the Biden campaign raised more than Trump’s for a second straight month, the president’s re-election campaign still holds a significant lead in total fundraising, spending, and cash on hand.

“The Trump campaign’s monumental June fundraising haul proves that people are voting with their wallets and that enthusiasm behind President Trump’s re-election is only growing,” Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement.

Biden for President campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement, “It’s clear that voters are looking for steady leadership, experience, empathy, compassion, and character—and they’ll find all of these qualities in Vice President Joe Biden.”

The Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign have raised a total of over $985 million since early 2017, consistently outpacing the totals for the DNC and President Barack Obama during the 2012 election cycle.

During the same point in time in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign had raised $68 million and the Hillary Clinton campaign had raised $250 million. 

Biden led Trump by 9.3 points on July 2 in an average of polls maintained by Real Clear Politics. On the same date during the 2016 presidential election, Clinton led Trump by 4.5 points.

The Trump campaign recorded a single-day fundraising record of $14 million on the president’s birthday, June 14. The Biden campaign raised $7.6 million during a virtual fundraiser with Obama on June 23.

Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. He is expected to be formally nominated during the Democratic National Convention scheduled for Aug. 17–20. 

The 2020 campaigns for both Trump and Biden were on a virtual pause for roughly three months due to the outbreak of the CCP virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Trump held the first campaign rally since the beginning of the outbreak, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20. Biden has held a series of virtual events and given speeches to small audiences.

Biden has agreed to three debates with Trump before the presidential election on Nov. 3.

In recent weeks, Biden has focused on criticizing Trump’s response to the CCP virus pandemic. Trump has focused his criticism on Biden’s record with China and Russia as well as his position on illegal aliens, among other issues.

Follow Ivan on Twitter: @ivanpentchoukov

Focus News: Biden, Trump Campaigns Set Fundraising Records in June

Australia’s Trade Surplus Rose 2Pct in May

Australia’s trade surplus rose 2.0 percent to $8.03 billion in May, as imports fell faster than exports. Exports dropped 4.0 percent to $35.7 billion, while imports dropped 6.0 percent to $27.7 billion, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on July 2. Imports of consumption goods was steeply lower, down 14 percent to $8.9 billion. Exports of rural goods fell 10 percent to $3.6 million, driven by a 31 percent drop in cereal grains and cereal preparations. Coal export earnings dropped by 13.3 percent, or $635 million. “Australia’s international trade surplus has – on balance – been boosted by the net impacts of the pandemic,” Westpac economist Andrew Hanlan said in a note. “Imports are trending lower as domestic demand contracts. Goods exports, while not immune from the global…