Trump burning through donor cash amid legal troubles

Former President Trump’s political operation is facing a cash crunch even as he outraises his GOP rivals, according to new campaign finance filings.

Disclosures made public ahead of a Monday night filing deadline showed Trump’s joint fundraising committee reported raising nearly $54 million during the first half of 2023, putting him well ahead of the rest of the primary field.

But filings show that Trump’s political committees spent roughly $25 million on legal fees in the same period, burning through much of what was raised. The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that the spending on legal fees was closer to $40 million.

Trump’s political operation, which includes his joint fundraising organization and a leadership PAC known as Save America, has roughly $32 million cash on hand heading into the second half of 2023.

Filings showed that a pro-Trump super PAC called Make America Great Again Inc. sent back millions of dollars that Save America had previously donated for ads to boost Trump’s candidacy.

The filings reflect that Trump’s ongoing legal troubles, and the bills that accompany them, are putting a significant dent in his fundraising as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.

Trump has been charged with felonies in Manhattan and in Florida, the latter of which are federal charges as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents.

He is facing investigations in Washington, D.C., and in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, with the potential for charges to be filed in both cases in a matter of days.

A Trump campaign spokesperson this week defended the creation of a legal defense fund for associates of the former president, saying it was necessary to “protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed.”

But that strategy has opened up a line of attack against Trump from the campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running in second in most GOP primary polls.

“Trump has spent over $60 million on 2 things: falsely attacking DeSantis and paying his own legal fees, not a cent on defeating Biden,” campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo said Sunday. “DeSantis’ sole focus, by contrast, has been campaigning for this country’s future, defeating Biden, and reversing the decline of America.”

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, shot back that DeSantis’s campaign was taking an “un-American” position.

“Ron DeSantis and his campaign are disgustingly siding with Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, and the January 6th Unselect Committee,” Cheung said in a statement. “They would rather defend Crooked Joe Biden and his weaponized Department of Justice than the innocent people who are being targeted by these political witch-hunts. Only desperate idiots and un-American morons would take the position the DeSantis team has taken.”