Donald Trump’s political fundraising operation has been spending 91 cents on overhead expenses for every dollar it brings in, according to Federal Election Commission filings reported by Bloomberg.
Trump raised a fat $24 million in the third quarter — a 41% increase over the previous quarter — but spent $22 million to do so, the new figures show.
Raising the money apparently became far more difficult and expensive (or fundraisers were pocketing larger salaries) as troubles mount for Trump. The FBI confiscated several boxes of White House documents — including classified and top secret information — from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in August. In September, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a $250 million civil lawsuit alleging business fraud against Trump and his three oldest children.
Trump has used both investigations to plead for money from his supporters.
Small donations of less than $200 accounted for $9.8 million of Trump’s third-quarter haul, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. To land that money, Trump spent $7.3 million on SMS appeals and just under $7.3 million on online ads. His third-biggest expense went for renting donor lists, which cost $2.8 million, Bloomberg reported.
Trump has raised a record amount of money for a former president, reaping $387 million since losing the 2020 election.
His leadership PAC Save America had $93 million cash on hand at the end of August, according to FEC filings, and collected an additional $3.3 million from a joint fundraising committee in September, Bloomberg reported.
Trump has endorsed more than 280 candidates in various elections since leaving office, but Save America donated just $910,500 to 181 candidates through the end of August, according to Bloomberg.
Republicans have tried to shake more cash from the Trump money tree. Yet he has continued to sit on millions even as Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel desperately pleaded in a conference call in August for donors to step up with money to help stumbling GOP candidates in November’s elections.