The entertainment value of Donald Trump far outweighs his usefulness, but one can’t deny his persistence. Trump is currently leading a new national presidential poll, but political analysts are quick to dismiss this early forecast. Both Herman Cain and Michelle Bachman demonstrated similar upswings before crashing in the 2012 race.
A new wrinkle in Trump’s presidential race was revealed by his new financial disclosure statement filing. Since the very “rich” Trump declared his candidacy in June, his campaign donations have been virtually nonexistent from a relative standpoint. Granted, Trump boasted during his announcement speech, “I don’t need anybody’s money,” because he didn’t want to answer to lobbyists.
The end result is that almost all of Trump’s donations came from his own pocket. The documents reveal how Trump raised a total of $1.9 million, but $1.8 million of that amount sprang from Trump’s former Macy’s pocket. He’s raised about $92,000 from sources other than himself. For a guy who claims to be worth “in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS,” $1.8 million is no big deal. But consider how many sponsors Trump has lost in the past month. Dude could end up selling off some real estate and liquidating assets by the time this campaign ends.
Trump also appears to be spending campaign money rapidly, and this campaign will need a cash infusion soon. Most of Trump’s donors donated $200 or less, so he’ll be dipping back into his own pocket quickly. The full breakdown of expenses is revealing, and a handy graph is available if you wish to compare Trump’s donations to the other candidates. Wouldn’t it be something if Trump blew through a huge chunk of his money after losing so much potential income?
(Via Politico, Washington Post, CNN, and Business Insider)