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Donald Trump has donated to Kamala Harris twice, but she didn't keep the money
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For more on Biden's decision and the now open 2024 race, head to the NPR Network's live updates page.
Former President Donald Trump donated not once but twice to re-elect Kamala Harris as the attorney general of California.
California records show that Trump contributed $5,000 in September 2011 toward Harris' 2014 reelection campaign, and followed up with another $1,000 in February 2013. His daughter Ivanka Trump also donated to the campaign, contributing $2,000 in 2014.
Harris was elected attorney general in 2011 and reelected in 2014. She served until 2017, when she was sworn into the U.S. Senate.
But Harris did not keep the $6,000 from Trump. A spokesperson told the Sacramento Bee in 2020 that she donated the money to a "nonprofit that advocates for civil and human rights for Central Americans" in 2015, by which point she had been reelected and was launching her bid for the Senate.
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News of Trump's contribution surfaced after Biden picked Harris as his running mate in 2020 and again this week after he endorsed her for president.
On Sunday, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., tweeted out an image of Trump's 2011 check to Harris' campaign, calling it "a wise investment."
Trump has financially supported plenty of Democrats in his lifetime — in fact, as NPR has reported, most of his political donations went to Democrats until around 2010.
He acknowledged that history on the campaign trail in 2016, saying at one rally, "I’ve got to give to them, because when I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my a**."
"I was looking at the ones I’m running against. I’ve contributed to most of them — can you believe it?" he said. "I contribute to everybody. I’ve given to Democrats. I’ve given to Hillary. I’ve given to everybody, because that was my job."
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