Donald Trump being prevented from running again reportedly hasn't stopped the president-elect from stockpiling a large amount of money from donations.
Thanks to corporations and wealthy donors, Trump's team expects to raise $500 million by summer, Axios reported Wednesday.
"The money is just pouring in at Mar-a-Lago. Trump doesn't have to lift a finger. Everyone's coming to him," one Trump adviser told the media outlet.
"We're looking at half a billion [dollars] by June, and we're on track. It's sort of a target but it's just a realistic projection of what's happening."
The fundraising indicates that Trump doesn't want to be seen as a lame duck in his second term. The money could be used to assist political allies, and help Republicans try to retain full control of Congress in 2026.
Besides raising nearly $200 million for the Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump reached out to donors after his sentencing on Friday in the New York case in which he was found guilty of falsifying business records.
"They're trying to sabotage the Presidential Transition process. They're trying to END the presidency as we know it — just before I take office," Trump wrote in an email, The Hill reported.
"But together, we will put a stop to the LAWFARE and make our country GREAT once again."
Trump's war chest includes the inauguration account, the MAGA Inc. super PAC, a political nonprofit called Securing American Greatness, the Republican National Committee, and Trump's presidential library fund, Axios reported.
Donors are coming from various industries, including healthcare, financial institutions, technology, and cryptocurrency.
"The crypto guys are just blowing it out," the Trump adviser told Axios. "It used to be $1 million was a big number. Now we're looking at some folks giving like $10 [million] or $20 million."
Another Trump adviser said: "If the tech guys are giving big, it makes everyone give."
The president-elect has made it clear to donors that he's not selling favors.
"A lot of these guys are going down [to Mar-a-Lago] taking victory laps because he's taking their money, and they're in for a rude awakening," one company consultant said. "Sure, he'll throw an inaugural party with their money but he owes them nothing."
"He'll take your money and then tell you, 'I don't give a [expletive] what you want.' He did that during the campaign," another Trump adviser told Axios. "He's going to do what he wants, what the base wants."