Trump Reduces Campaign Expenditure in Attempt to Narrow Funding Deficit with Biden

Trump’s Presidential Campaign Closes Fund-Raising Gap

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign ended March with $45 million, aiming to close the fund-raising gap with President Biden, according to federal filings shown recently. Despite spending less than the beginning of the year, Trump’s campaign spent just $3.7 million in March, minimizing the spending gap with Biden’s campaign, which spent $29.2 million in March.

Biden’s campaign had $85.5 million on hand at the end of March, a significant jump from February’s $71 million, outperforming Trump’s campaign which ended with less than half of that. As Trump and the Republicans try to close Democrats’ financial edge, Biden has also narrowed the polling gap between himself and Trump. According to a recent survey by The New York Times and Siena College, Biden has cut a deficit of five percentage points to a single point, resulting in a virtual tie.

Both Trump and Biden capitalized on fund-raisers that brought in tens of millions for their campaigns. Trump’s April 6 event in Palm Beach raked in over $50.5 million, reported by his campaign and the Republican National Committee. This amount nearly doubled the $26 million raised at Biden’s event at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Both candidates mainly raise money through joint fund-raising agreements with their respective parties, arrangements that legally allow them to pull in hundreds of thousands from individual donors.

FEC reports for presidential campaigns offer insights about candidates’ activities and how their committees spend money. In 2024 Q1, Biden’s campaign has spent more than half its total of $74.1 million on media buys and production. Trump’s campaign spending has slowed since the beginning of the year, with a total of $23 million spent but just $3.7 million in March. His committee, Save America, however, reported having almost $4.1 million on hand at the end of March.

Attention has also been drawn to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as an independent, and how he is funding his campaign. His selection of Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer, as his running mate seems to have become a boon for his campaign.