Trump starts 3rd White House bid lagging in campaign cash

Trump starts 3rd White House bid lagging in campaign cash

SeattlePI.com

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NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s political operation started the year with about $25 million socked away for his recently launched 2024 presidential campaign, a sum that is substantially less than what he had on hand just one year ago, new campaign finance reports show.

The diminished sum, which is spread out across four campaign committees, is far less than the $105 million that Trump reported at the start of 2022. It speaks to the potential challenges for Trump as he mounts his third bid for the presidency facing what is likely to be a crowded field of GOP candidates who will also be vying for campaign cash from the party's donors.

Across his political committees, including his main campaign account, Trump raised $9.5 million since launching his bid on Nov. 15, according to his campaign, a far cry from the gargantuan sums his campaign boasted of raising in a matter of days — or even hours — back when he was still president.

Although Trump has faced questions about whether he would struggle to raise money, especially as some Republicans openly discuss whether it's time for the party to move on, his campaign defended the numbers.

"The campaign built out a second-to-none operation both on the national level and in early states since announcing. The President will wage an aggressive and fully-funded campaign to take our country back from Joe Biden and Democrats who seek to destroy our country," Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Part of why Trump has less money than he previously did is because one of his committees, a leadership PAC called Save America, transferred $60 million to a separate super PAC supporting his bid.

Some campaign finance watchdogs have questioned the legality of that move, arguing that the transfer skirts limits...

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