REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
- President Donald Trump is considering pouring up to $100 million of his own cash into his reelection bid, Bloomberg first reported on Tuesday.
- While Trump spent $66 million of his own money on his 2016 race, it’s unprecedented for a sitting president to pour his own fortune into his reelection campaign.
- The Trump campaign is reportedly cash-strapped after it spent hundreds of millions in the early months of the 2020 cycle.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump is considering spending up to $100 million of his own money on the last two months of his reelection bid, Bloomberg first reported on Tuesday.
The president confirmed that report later on Tuesday, telling reporters he’s prepared to spend as much of his own fortune as necessary to win reelection. But he added that he doesn’t think his campaign needs an injection of cash from him for now.
The New York Times reported on Monday that the Trump campaign is facing a “cash crunch” after former campaign manager Brad Parscale rapidly spent hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads and other efforts early in the 2020 cycle.
Incumbent presidents normally benefit from a cash advantage over their opponents and it’s unprecedented for a sitting president to spend his own money on his reelection.
The president’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have spent $800 million on Trump’s reelection — almost twice what Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has spent so far. Trump spent $66 million of his own money on his 2016 presidential bid and he and his allies raised $400 million less than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.
The Trump campaign wouldn't confirm reports that the president is discussing funneling his own fortune into his bid for a second term.
"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," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement to Bloomberg. "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."
Parscale's lavish spending reportedly included $11 million on Super Bowl ads, $21 million on legal expenses since last year related to investigations into the president, and tens of millions on ads during the first half of 2020 when voters weren't tuned into the race.
The president defended his campaign's spending in a tweet on Tuesday morning.
"My Campaign spent a lot of money up front in order to compensate for the false reporting and Fake News concerning our handling of the China Virus," he tweeted. "Now they see the GREAT job we have done, and we have 3 times more than we had 4 years ago - & are up in polls. Lots of $'s & ENERGY!"
Trump has told associates that his new campaign manager, Bill Stepien, took a pay cut when he was promoted, the Times reported.
Parscale, who has personally earned millions from his work for the campaign, has defended his strategy and said he ran the 2020 campaign under the Trump family's close watch.
"No decision was made without their approval," he told The Times.
Trump's reported discussions about pouring his own money into the campaign are likely an attempt to pressure big donors who've been reluctant to send him cash this cycle.
Despite massive spending on attracting new donors, the president is failing to win support from most of the mega-donors who funded his 2016 bid and continued to bankroll him in 2018, The New York Times reported last month.
Just six of the top 38 donors to Trump-aligned super PACs over the past two cycles have donated to the major super PAC backing Trump's reelection, America First.
Meanwhile, Biden is raking in tens of millions from mega donors and grassroots donors alike. Last month alone, Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised $365 million, which is $172 million more than the previous single-month record.