Donald Trump’s joint fundraising committee reported elevating $53.8 million within the first half of the yr, a long-teased determine that blows all of his Republican opponents out of the water.
However the twice-indicted former president can be spending cash at a prodigious price, which may put a pressure on his funds because the election gears up.
All advised, the joint fundraising committee spent greater than $17 million over the primary six months of 2023 on fundraising bills reminiscent of digital consulting, junk mail, e mail and checklist leases. Roughly 60 p.c of the cash the committee raised was transferred to its associates — $29.3 million to Trump’s marketing campaign and $2.2 million to his management PAC, Save America.
Trump’s excessive burn price was evident in different filings made Monday with the Federal Election Fee. The Save America management PAC, which additionally filed its personal biannual report, reported spending greater than $30 million within the first six months of the yr whereas counting on the switch from the joint fundraising committee and greater than $12 million refunded from MAGA Inc., a brilliant PAC that Save America had transferred important funds to final yr.
By far the most important expense from Save America was authorized consulting, which accounted for greater than $21 million.
The management PAC reported paying practically 50 distinct entities for authorized work or authorized consulting, with 9 totally different companies paid a minimum of seven figures. The group additionally reimbursed Purple Curve Options — the agency of Bradley T. Crate, his longtime marketing campaign treasurer — roughly $1.5 million for authorized charges and bills, which means that investigators have targeted on Trump’s marketing campaign books.
There have been loads of silver linings for Trump. Of the hefty sum raised by Trump’s joint fundraising committee between Jan. 1 and June 30, $23.7 million got here from donors giving lower than $200, a far higher whole than any of the previous president’s opponents, Republican or Democrat.
The previous president has lengthy been a robust fundraiser amongst small-dollar donors, however many candidates and committees throughout the political spectrum have seen a drop in small-dollar donations up to now this yr.
Trump’s marketing campaign had hinted at robust fundraising pushed partially by small-dollar backlash to his authorized woes. He closely fundraised off his late March indictment on enterprise costs associated to a payout to a former grownup movie star, and once more in June when he was indicted on costs associated to retention of labeled paperwork at his Mar-a-Lago property.
Excessive fundraising bills have been an issue for Trump earlier than. Within the first six weeks after his marketing campaign launch final November, his joint fundraising committee spent extra on checklist leases, textual content messaging and digital promoting than it took in from donors.
