By Jonathan Allen and Bridget Bowman —
NBC News
Former President Donald Trump faces a cash crunch as fees from his multiple legal cases pile up and his campaign for the Republican nomination generates big expenses.
Meanwhile, the president, Joe Biden, raises more and more money.
The two's campaign finance records, filed Wednesday, showed that the main political action committee or super PAC supporting Trump's campaign (MAGA Inc) spent more than it raised in the last six months of 2023, mainly transferring another $30 million to Save America, the fund that pays the former president's high legal fees.
His campaign also spent more money than it took in in the last three months of the year.
This suggests that Trump's recent threats to eliminate Republican donors who don't give him resources go beyond mere loyalty:
He needs the money.
By comparison, the Biden campaign ended the year with $46 million in cash, far more than the $33 million the Trump campaign had before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Future Forward, the main super PAC backing the president, had slightly more in the bank than MAGA Inc at the end of the year: $24 million versus $23.3 million.
Former President Donald Trump sitting in the courtroom during his civil fraud trial in the New York State Supreme Court.Brendan McDermid/Pool via Getty Images
Democrats boasted Wednesday night that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are raising money for campaign purposes, not legal issues.
“While Donald Trump burns through money paying the bill for his various expenses, the Biden-Harris team, fueled by donors from their base, is hard at work, talking to the voters who will decide this election and building the campaign infrastructure to win in November,” campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said in a statement.
Of course, Trump's legal problems have benefited him in the Republican primary campaign, attracting GOP voters to his cause, as he has accused Biden, without evidence, of using the Department of Justice to stop his advance. .
Thus, Trump sees the accusations he faces as a key part of his strategy to defeat Biden in November.
These have proven helpful in raising funds and dispatching his Republican opponents.
The day Trump's mugshot was made public in August, following his arrest in the Georgia election interference case, he received $4.2 million online, according to a fundraising report filed Wednesday by WinRed, the leading platform. who raises funds online for the Republican Party.
That amount was the largest that Trump received in this way last year in a single day.
President Joe Biden speaks in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on Friday, January 5, 2024. Associated Press
Now, Trump hopes his legal troubles will energize loyal GOP donors ahead of the general election and help him convince
undecided voters to turn their backs on Biden.
Trump remains a master of small-scale fundraising.
While 18% of Biden's fourth-quarter fundraising came from donors who have given the maximum amount to his campaign, only 6% of Trump's cash came from donors who have given the $6,600 limit.
That means Trump is well positioned to get more contributions from donors who are still eligible under the law.
Spokespeople for Trump and MAGA Inc. did not respond to requests for comment on their campaign finance disclosures Wednesday night.
Both candidates expanded their operations during the last quarter of the year.
Trump had 78 employees on the payroll and Biden 74, according to his campaign statements.
MAGA Inc., which as a super PAC can legally receive unlimited donations, raised $47.8 million from July 1 to Dec. 31, including $10 million in contributions from Timothy Mellon, who has also been a supporter of the ambitions. presidential grants from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and more than $5 million from former Trump Administration cabinet official Linda McMahon.
But the super PAC spent $55.4 million in the same period, leaving it with $23.3 million in the bank at the end of the year.
The $30 million it spent on transfers to Save America — that is, to Trump's lawyers — is almost 50% more than the $20.4 million it paid for ads in the last six months of 2023, according to an NBC News analysis .
The Trump campaign brought in $19.1 million from October to December — less than 60% of the Biden campaign's $33 million — and disbursed $23.6 million.
The campaign spent $97,000 on facility rentals and
catering
at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
However, the highest expenses were 7.6 million dollars in advertising, 3.7 million in legal advice, 1.7 million in air travel and event organization, and another 1.6 million in payroll.
Since the data only covers the end of last year, it's impossible to know how much Trump has raised and spent in the months since.
But in recent days he has added a series of big-ticket fundraising events to his calendar, including one this week near his Palm Beach home and another at his Mar-a-Lago resort next month. , according to one of the guests.
Without a serious primary challenger, Biden has been able to focus his money on talking to voters about himself and also about Trump.
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who is running for the party's presidential nomination, spent $4 million on his campaign last quarter and raised another million from donors.
Biden spent $19.3 million in the last quarter of the year, of which about $12 million went to making and placing ads.
Add to this $2 million in text messages to reach voters, and spending was concentrated on communications.
Aside from those expenses, their largest outlays were for payroll and payroll taxes,
which amounted to about $3 million combined.
As an advantage of his position, Biden has been able to coordinate fundraising with his party throughout the campaign.
The Democratic National Committee recently reported $21 million on hand earlier this year, and big donors have also been pouring money into Democratic state accounts through the president's campaign fundraising operation.
Because there is a primary campaign on the Republican Party side, Trump has not been able to use the Republican National Committee — which ended the year with $8 million in the bank — as a campaign arm.
The body must be neutral in the campaign during the primaries, although party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has recently called on all Republicans to unite around Trump, whom she described as the “eventual nominee.”