By Illinois Review
On Saturday, President Donald Trump hosted a private event at his Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago with top Republican donors for the Republican National Committee’s Spring Retreat – as officials announced raising a staggering $76 million last month as Trump – who leads in virtually every national poll and in key swing states – takes on President Joe Biden in an election rematch this November.
Guests at the retreat included the country’s top Republican political leaders – including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s third in line to the presidency. And during his speech, President Trump invited several leaders to the stage and introduced each of them individually. Joining him alongside Johnson were U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, JD Vance and Doug Burgum; U.S. Representatives Jim Banks, Byron Donalds, Wesley Hunt, Elsie Stefanik and Michael Waltz; candidates Dave McCormick and Bernie Moreno; former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, RNC chairman Michael Whatley and RNC co-chairwoman Lara Trump.
The lineup on stage also included a surprise guest – former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich – who Trump invited to the stage last minute. The former governor has been busy raising money for the Trump campaign. On February 18, 2020, President Trump commuted Blagojevich’s prison sentence after having served 8 years of a 14-year sentence for routine political dealmaking. The former governor never took a dime – and no one even alleges he took any money – he was simply exploring political deals as he weighed making an appointment to fill Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat after he was elected president. The former governor was targeted by the same political enemies going after Trump, including former FBI Director Robert Mueller and James Comey’s best friend Patrick Fitzgerald.
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