Trump suffers collection problems for his electoral campaign after the bad results in the 'midterms'

By Jonathan Allen and Marc Caputo -

Former President Donald Trump is strapped for campaign money after announcing his 2024 presidential candidacy in mid-November, according to year-end figures obtained exclusively by Noticias Telemundo's sister network NBC News.

Trump, who has been the most prolific fundraiser for the Republican Party in recent years, raised about $9.5 million in the last six weeks of last year through his campaign and a joint fundraising committee, according to a person familiar with their loot.

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The figures were shared with NBC News before Trump released the first campaign finance totals for his third run for president on Tuesday.

Trump's decision to plunge into the shadow of a difficult GOP midterm election, donor fatigue and his early absence from social media giant Facebook all contributed to the cash crunch, according to Republican traders.

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In a sign that Trump understands he will need to raise more money faster for what promises to be a competitive GOP primary campaign, his campaign has recently expanded its digital fundraising team by hiring company Campaign Inbox to solicit the set of small money donors.

Campaign officials have long said he would use the early part of this year to build his apparatus and begin expanding his footprint in early primary states.

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There are other reasons to think that Trump may beef up his ATM.

He has yet to get a traditional mail-in fundraising device up and running, which is a proven means of raising small contributions in large numbers.

And his initial fundraising has been limited by his ban from Facebook, one of his main fundraising platforms in 2016 and 2020, which kicked him out for inciting the mob that ransacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. But the company has said that the ban will be lifted.

Trump also did himself a disservice by announcing his campaign just after the midterm elections, a period of stagnation in fundraising for candidates across the partisan and ideological spectrum.

Eric Wilson, a Republican digital fundraising consultant who is not affiliated with the campaign, said that in addition to announcing at a bad time for fundraising in general, Trump began asking for money amid a round of finger-pointing by the disappointing GOP midterm elections, in which some fingers were pointed at the ubiquitous former president.

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"If you want a huge fundraising success when you announce your campaign, don't do it right after an election where all your donors are burned out from being bombarded with fundraising requests and you don't have a great track record to show for it." Wilson opined.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to the border wall near Pharr, Texas, on June 30, 2021.Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images

That was the reality for Trump, whose affiliated entities actually raised more before his presidential campaign launch than after his big announcement: $11.8 million from Oct. 1 through its Nov. 15 launch, and then just $9.5 million. from November 15 to the end of the year.

The vast majority of the post-launch donations from Trump, which flowed largely through the joint fundraising committee, came from low-dollar donors, according to the person familiar with the figures.

The 291,617 donors who gave $200 or less accounted for 99.48% of his contributions.

On average, his donations amounted to $32.32.

Trump may also contract with additional vendors for the digital fundraising program, which relies on emails and text messages to solicit donations.

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“Everyone wants that account.

because he is the king of small dollar givers,” said a Republican who works in the digital fundraising space, asking to remain anonymous to speak candidly about the former president.

Beyond the digital venture, Trump is expected to build a more traditional fundraising structure to garner donations of $2,900 each for the primary campaign, the maximum allowed by law.

Campaigns often use heavyweights to bundle those donations into high-profile fundraisers.

But it is low-cost donors who have helped Trump in the past, sending small amounts of money to keep his campaigns running.

Most important, according to Wilson, may be his imminent return to Facebook. 

“Nearly 50% of Republican donors log on to Facebook every day,” Wilson said, citing survey data related to a nonprofit group he runs.

"So if you're not able to reach those donors, you're at a huge disadvantage in raising funds."

Trump has not held any of his campaign rallies since announcing his candidacy.

He began his travel schedule Saturday with speeches in the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.