It’s ‘brass tacks’ time for cash-strapped Trump campaign

Donald Trump doesn’t have the money to match what Democrats are expected to spend against him in the presidential campaign. He’s holding fewer of his expensive, signature rallies. He’s ramping up his fundraising — but trying to pay down his legal bills. And he’s about to get swamped on the airwaves.

Inside his constellation of donors, there is an acknowledgment that the campaign needs to begin building up its war chest — and quickly bring more backers on board.

“Make no mistake, it's not going to be easy,” said former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, a major donor. “There's donor fatigue. And what we have to focus on is not just fundraising, but making sure that people understand the contrast between the two candidates.”

Like other donors who spoke with POLITICO this week, Loeffler projected optimism that Trump will have the resources necessary — and that he likely won’t need to raise as much money as President Joe Biden to keep his polling lead.

Still, she said, it’s time to “get down to the brass tacks of having events and fundraisers,” which she said is underway. Republicans in the donor community “need to circle the wagons and support President Trump,” she added, without fear of “being silenced by the media and threats from other people in terms of being a Trump donor.”

Trump is running ahead of Biden in early general election polls, but not by much. And Republicans are already contending with an onslaught of spending by Biden’s campaign. Biden and the Democratic National Committee ended last month with $97.5 million cash on hand, more than double what Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee had together, not counting either side’s joint fundraising committees.

Trump, meanwhile, has been forced to divert tens of millions of dollars to pay for his legal expenses. And his campaign has taken steps in recent weeks to slash costs, starting the general election at a massive financial disadvantage. Since March 6, the day after Super Tuesday, Biden and his super PAC have spent nearly $6 million combined on ads, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact, while Trump and his super PAC have spent just a fraction of that total — shy of $1.5 million.

Trump campaign officials say the operation has been cognizant of spending since the beginning. Top advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita have looked for ways to be operationally lean, according to aides. They’ve done fewer of Trump’s signature big stadium gatherings, favoring tele-rallies and smaller get-out-the-vote or policy events. They’re operating out of “typical” campaign headquarters instead of working out of a highrise like they did in 2020, and taking UberX instead of black car services.

On days he isn’t traveling or appearing in court, Trump is working the phone to drum up support or thank donors. He spent multiple days this week for “hours at a time” on the phone with donors, according to an aide granted anonymity to speak freely, and has next Wednesday and Thursday blocked off for fundraising calls where the former president makes a personalized pitch for support.

Trump’s campaign — and its donors — aren’t panicking. Several members of the Republican donor class suggested in interviews this week that they expect money will only make so much of a difference in an election rematch between two candidates who are already well known and well-defined. That’s especially true in a race that will likely be decided by only a couple dozen battleground counties.

“Money can’t hide if Biden stumbles down the stairs, or if Trump says something crazy and pisses everyone off,” said one longtime Republican donor, granted anonymity to speak freely.

Another person, who is familiar with the Trump campaign’s thinking around fundraising and was granted anonymity to speak freely, argued that Biden’s cash advantage was less concerning because of Trump’s ability to generate so much news coverage.

“I don’t think there is tremendous concern about the disparity at this point,” the person said. “They feel comfortable that a combination of who this person is, his ability to command the news cycle and earned media gives them the ability to have as much parity as possible.”

But there still is significant ground to make up financially. And Loeffler, who is serving as a co-chair of Trump’s April 6 “Inaugural Leadership Dinner,” said she wanted to “do it early” this election. She has given $1 million to Trump’s main super PAC, MAGA Inc., since he left office in early 2021.

That total doesn’t count her upcoming contribution for next month’s fundraiser, where top “Ultra MAGA” donors will each give $814,600 to the former president’s new “Trump 47” committee.

The event, hosted by investor John Paulson, is the first major fundraiser since Trump clinched the Republican nomination and is attracting a who’s who of wealthy Republican donors like hotelier Steve Wynn, hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah Mercer, and sports team owners Woody Johnson and Todd Ricketts.

Notably, some of Trump’s former critics, like oil baron Harold Hamm, and major donors to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, like Robert Bigelow, are listed as co-chairs for the event.

Between Trump’s campaign fundraising committees and his super PAC, Trump’s team is “on track between now and election day to raise over a billion dollars,” said a person close to the former president and who is involved with fundraising efforts.

Besides big fundraising events like the April 6 gathering with Trump, top financial backers are also organizing a series of smaller dinners in the next few months featuring surrogates like Donald Trump Jr. and his fiance Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric and Lara Trump, according to the person close to the former president who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

But the person said that doesn’t mean he has to reach Biden levels of spending.

“Why do we have to catch up? We're ahead.”

Absent writing checks, wealthy Republican donors appear to be coming out in support of the former president. This week, billionaire Nelson Peltz told the Financial Times he will be supporting Trump, although he did not say if he will donate to him. Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of the Home Depot, who once wrestled over his GOP primary options, wrote an op-ed last week calling for the GOP to unite.

Loeffler said she is confident that Trump’s team will be “aggressively raising funds from past donors, and working hard to earn that,” while also looking to bring in new donors.

“I think we are going to see some opportunity to earn the trust of new donors, and they’ll be coming our way,” she said.

And despite Biden’s substantial fundraising advantage over Trump, some in the liberal donor class remain on edge about the president’s prospects. George Fontas, a Democratic political consultant in New York, described a “doom sense” among Democratic donors who are forking over loads of cash while fearful of the November outcome.

“They’re concerned Trump’s candidacy is a candidacy they need to take very seriously because of his unbelievable support in some of these battleground states, and they can't just write this off,” Fontas said. “No one’s saying Biden is going to be fine. There’s almost a sense of, if we win this, we’re going to squeak this out.”