Does no one on the planet spend more than Donald Trump right now? (That is, when he’s not stiffing contractors or lawyers.) The former president has a lot to pay for, most notably his ever-mounting legal woes, not to mention a third campaign that’s doing far better than it should, considering this time last year he was considered possibly, finally done. (Alas.) But someone still has to pay for that campaign, and last month his team spent so much freakin’ money, even more than it raised.
Per Bloomberg, last month Trump’s campaign managed to amass some $8.4 million, which is actually not that much. Nikki Haley, his employee-turned-hated rival, raised $16.5 million, almost twice that, in the same time span — enough to keep her in the running, despite her pitiful polling.
Still, Trump’s fundraising might still seem impressive had the campaign not spent more than that, namely $11.4 million, in the same month.
What’s more, Trump-aligned political action committees haven’t been only spending cash on his campaign. They’ve also been helping out with his enormous legal bills. In January Trump nicked $2.9 million from one PAC alone. Given that he still has more trials on the burner, including one for his alleged hush money payments slated to start in March, there’s going to be more where that came from.
At this rate, Trump will run out of money he’s allowed to borrow for legal fees in mid-year. That might mean he’ll have to plunder from the Republican National Committee next.
Luckily for Trump backers, this month he’s been able to replenish his campaign’s cash supply, raising $6.8 million at a South Carolina fundraiser on Tuesday. He also has a splashy, star-studded fundraiser scheduled for early March. By then the Trump campaign may be back in the black, but thinking about all that cash flowing in and out just fogs the mind.
(Via Bloomberg)