Donald Trump Is Strapped For Cash Ahead of 2024 Campaign As Legal Troubles Mount

Former President Donald J. Trump's legal woes turned into cash woes ahead of the 2024 elections. The Republican leader has burned out nearly all of his campaign cash, as per the new financial reports. The 45th President of the United States has drained almost all his financial backing, including the lucrative Super PAC, amidst the ongoing legal battles. 

Trump's various political committees, including the Super PAC, have drained roughly 30 cents of every dollar spent so far this year on his legal issues, according to The New York Times. According to the analysis of federal records, a total of $27 million has gone into legal fees and other investigation-related bills in the first six months of 2023. The breakdown of that $27 million is in legal costs, such as Trump paying at least eight law firms more than $1 million each in the first half of 2023. This amount is expected to escalate in the upcoming months as several other criminal cases against him reach courtrooms in New York, Florida, and Washington D.C. As per the Federal Election Commission records, the 77-year-old's Super PAC raised over $15 million in the first half of 2023, spent over $30 million, and now has about $3.6 million in hand. Several filings have shown that his ongoing legal troubles and the bills accompanying them have put a significant dent in his fundraising, as reported by The Hill. 

Sources within the Trump campaign confirmed that Save America requested that an aligned super PAC supporting his presidential bid return $60 million to the leadership PAC, as per CNN. The most recent filings, including those that came on Monday, showed that 'Make America Great Again', Inc., had returned nearly $12.3 million over four installments in May and June. Overall, the leadership PAC paid more than three dozen law firms during the first six months. Save America was the primary fundraising vehicle for Trump's political campaigns and operations. Data from OpenSecrets showed that his campaign during the 2020 election raised over $300 million from donors who gave $200 or less. The former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told CNBC, "Most of the money that middle-class Americans have given to him, he's spent on his own legal fees," reports CNBC. These alarming reports suggesting a significant drop in Trump's campaign war chest are bothersome since none of his legal battles seem to be dying soon. 

His committee is burning more than it's taking in and tapping into the money it raised years ago. If the fundraising for the 2024 election goes at this pace, Trump will soon have to dig into his own fortune to pay for his lawyers, his 2024 campaign, or both. His advisers have long anticipated a potential cash crunch, but he resisted taking this step to rely on his "own" money. Since Trump is renowned for not planning long-term, some of his close allies are unsure how much he's invested in the financial challenges. However, these people are hopeful that if he becomes a presidential nominee, the Republican Party may back the politician and his campaigns for 2024. 

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said in a statement, "President Trump continues to be the campaign fundraising leader due to the support from voters who recognize this as an illegal witch-hunt. As President Trump has said, he will spend whatever it takes to defeat the Deep State and Crooked Joe Biden."

References:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/trump-operation-spending-legal-troubles/index.html

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4130547-trump-burning-through-donor-cash-amid-legal-troubles/

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/01/donald-trumps-100-million-pac-has-just-3point6-million-in-cash.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/politics/donald-trump-legal-bills-campaign.html