WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has forgiven US$50 million (S$67 million) in loans he made to his campaign, according to an interview with Mr Trump's finance chief on CNBC on Thursday (June 23).
"(Trump) loaned $50 million to the campaign. He's now forgiven that loan. So that is a contribution," said Mr Steve Mnuchin to CNBC. "(Trump) has also said he will contribute significantly more money."
The New York real estate magnate's campaign had started June with a war chest of just over US$1 million, badly lagging his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's US$42 million, causing worries among his backers that he may not be able to adequately fund his White House bid.
Mr Mnuchin added that Mr Trump had raised about US$10 million in conjunction with the Republican Party at fund-raising events this week, along with another US$6 million through online donations to his joint fundraising account with the party.
"We've really ramped up the effort this month," Mr Mnuchin said. He added that Mr Trump's numbers at the beginning of June were "irrelevant" because his fund-raising efforts for the general election only started recently.
