Trump gives $31,000 in October, falling short of $100M boast

WASHINGTON Donald Trump has repeated it so much it’s almost part of his stump speech: He’s going to put $100 million of his own money into his campaign before Election Day. But new filings show he’s got a long way to go if he’s going to hit that mark.

The Republican presidential nominee gave a mere $31,000 to his campaign in the first 19 days of October. That means he needs to pony up another $44 million to fulfil his $100 million claim.

And more recent reports show no multimillion-dollar check has materialized even after Trump doubled down on his boast, telling CNN this week: “I will have more than $100 million in the campaign. And I am prepared to go much more than that.”

Over the course of his presidential bid, the New York businessman who says he is worth $10 billion has given about $56 million of his own money. The majority of that spending occurred during the GOP primary. During the general election, his campaign gifts slowed to about $2 million each month.

Trump’s contribution also shrinks when accounting for about $9 million in campaign cash that has gone back out to his own family and businesses. That money has gone toward rent at Trump Tower, catering at his restaurants and even the Trump Ice bottled water that’s popped up at his events.

Trump’s October contribution was revealed in the same reports that showed his campaign had only about $16 million left in the bank as of last week. Trump raised about $30 million in the first 19 days of October, less than the $53 million Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton raised for her campaign. Clinton had about $62 million in the bank as of last week.