Trump weighs putting up to $100 million of his cash into race
President Donald Trump has discussed spending as much as $100 million of his own money on his re-election campaign, if necessary, to beat Democratic nominee Joe Biden, according to people familiar with the matter.
The billionaire president has talked about the idea with multiple people, though he hasn’t yet committed to any selffunding, according to people briefed on internal deliberations. Though Trump personally contributed $66 million to his 2016 campaign, it would be unprecedented for an incumbent president to put his own money toward winning a second term.
Trump has sought advice about whether he should self-fund as he scrutinizes heavy spending by his team earlier this year that failed to push him ahead of the former vice president in the polls. In addition, Biden’s campaign and associated Democratic entities have recently raised more than Trump and his allies.
Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesman, declined to say whether there’s been any consideration of using the president’s personal fortune to help fund his re-election effort.
“President Trump’s fundraising is breaking records and we are paying close attention to the budget, allowing us to invest twice as much from now until Election Day than we did in 2016,” Murtaugh said in an email. “President Trump has also built the world’s greatest digital fundraising operation, a dominant ground game, and a third advantage Joe Biden can never match -- enthusiasm.”
Trump’s re-election effort, including the Republican National Committee, has spent more than $800 million so far, while Biden and the Democratic National Committee spent about $414 million through July, according to financial reports.
But Biden and the
DNC raised $365 million in August, shattering a previous record one-month record of $193 million set by Barack Obama in 2008. Biden had $294 million in cash on hand at the end of July, about $6 million less than Trump’s re-election effort.
Trump and the RNC have yet to release their fundraising numbers for August. They said they raised $76 million during the four days of the Republican National Convention last month.
Trump’s advisers have mixed views on the president doing any selffunding, with some saying that his re-election effort has enough cash and that he doesn’t need to dip into his personal fortune. The campaign will have twice as much money as it had in 2016, and new outside groups are starting to spend as well, one person familiar with campaign planning said.
It’s unclear how quickly Trump could come up with $100 million for his campaign. His net worth has declined $300 million in the past year to $2.7 billion, erasing 10% of his fortune since he took office, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Trump had between $46.7 million and $156.5 million in various savings, checking and money market accounts at the end of
2019, according to his most recent financial disclosure. Government officials disclose the value of their assets in broad ranges.
He listed 20 assets as being worth more than $50 million, the highest value on the disclosure, including signature properties like his Mar-aLago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, his golf clubs and the Trump International Hotel in Washington. He also listed debts of at least $315 million, including mortgages on Trump
Tower in New York and his Washington hotel.
Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, has drawn criticism for spending during his tenure. The New York Times reported Monday that Trump’s re-election effort faces a “cash crunch” with less than 60 days before the election.
The Trump campaign spent $40 million airing ads on broadcast and cable television in May and June, according to Advertising Analytics.