TRENTON -- Donald Trump, who over the past year became the biggest self-funder in the history of presidential primaries, announced Thursday that he is forgiving the nearly $50 million he has loaned to his campaign.

That means Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is promising not to use future donations to repay himself the money he lent and is essentially turning the loan into a donation from himself.

"I have absolutely no intention of paying myself back for the nearly $50 million dollars I have loaned to the campaign," the billionaire businessman and former Atlantic City casino mogul said in a statement. "This money is a contribution made in order to 'Make America Great Again.'"

The news comes two days after campaign finance reports showed Trump's fundraising efforts have lagged severely compare to presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The reports showed Trump raised only $3.1 million in campaign donations in May -- the month he became the GOP's presumptive nominee -- while Clinton took in $26.4 million. They also showed Trump had only $1.29 million in cash on hand compared to Clinton's $42.5 million.

But Trump, a real estate magnate, stressed this week that he could give his campaign "unlimited" cash on hand at any time by using his own money.

And in Thursday's statement, his campaign argued that Trump's fundraising efforts have only just begun to flourish.

"After self-funding his primary election, Mr. Trump and the campaign have assembled an exceptional fundraising operation, which in recent days has been overwhelmed with contributions for the Republican Party," the campaign said in a statement Thursday.

Steve Mnuchin, Trump's campaign finance chair, told CNBC on Thursday that Trump and his joint fundraising effort with the Republican National Committee raised about $10 million at events this week, in addition to another $6 million Trump raised online.

"We've really ramped up the effort this month," Mnuchin said.

He added t

hat Trump "has also said he will contribute significantly more money" than the $50 million in loans he has forgiven.

Mnuchin noted that Trump does not need as much money as Clinton because of the TV coverage and social media exposure he has.

"This is going to be a nontraditional campaign," he said. "This is going to be a campaign driven by social media and driven by free TV."

Trump loaned his campaign $45.7 through May, according to finance reports.

That figure surpassed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who lent his campaign $44.7 million in 2008 in an unsuccessful attempt to win the Republican nomination. Romney later forgave the loan.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.