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This was Donald Trump’s big announcement at his “counter-debate"

People line up to attend a Donald Trump campaign rally raising funds for US military veterans at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.
People line up to attend a Donald Trump campaign rally raising funds for US military veterans at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.
WILLIAM EDWARDS/AFP/Getty Images

As his rivals in the Republican Party debated, Donald Trump spoke at a separate fundraiser at Drake University in Iowa on Thursday.

And he had a major announcement to make: Trump promised to donate $1 million of his own money to veterans during his speech. (Forbes has valued Trump's worth at $4.5 billion.)

Trump's speech can be viewed at the link below:

One of the speakers who appeared before Trump was Tana Goertz, a former contestant on the reality TV show The Apprentice and the Trump campaign's Iowa state co-chair.

Goertz urged Iowans to "put your faith in Mr. Trump," saying she had been mentored by the billionaire.

"I want to tell you about the real Donald Trump — not the one the media wants to portray him to be," Goertz said. "I learned so much being mentored by Mr. Trump."

Trump made headlines this week after announcing he would boycott the debate, accusing the host Fox News and debate co-moderator Megyn Kelly of being biased against him.

In addition to his $1 million personal donation, Trump said that nearly $6 million has been donated for veterans in connection with his event.

A story in NBC News on Thursday noted that the Donald J. Trump Foundation "has given little to vets groups."

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