In the third quarter of this year, Bloomberg reports former President Donald Trump raised some $24 million — and spent nearly $22 million in support of that fundraising effort, making the net return much lower than some in Trump’s orbit would no doubt hope.
The publication calculates these figures work out to Trump spending 91 cents on every dollar he raised. The overall total raised represented an increase of more than 40 percent from the previous quarter, but the high fundraising costs cut into the ability for the influx of donations to substantially add to Trump’s available funds. The money was specifically raised through the Trump fundraising organization called the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, which in this calendar year has now reported a total of some $60 million in fundraising alongside nearly $40 million in costs. For the third quarter, there were $3.6 million in transfers from the joint fundraising committee to affiliated or other party committees, evidently representing the movement of money to other political fundraising organizations in the Trump orbit, most of which was transferred to Trump’s Save America PAC.
This joint fundraising committee doesn’t directly contribute to federal candidates, even those Trump has endorsed, but other Trump-tied groups do. The Save America PAC has donated millions in support of Trump-aligned candidates, and there is also now another super PAC using some version of a Trump slogan — this time, it’s Make America Great Again Inc. — supporting Republican Senate candidates. It’s already spent $5 million across a series of swing states since launching late last month. Meanwhile, in the third quarter, Trump spent “$7.3 million on SMS appeals and a little less than $7.3 million on online ads. His third-biggest expense went to rentals of donor lists, which cost $2.8 million,” as reported by Bloomberg.
As could be expected, Trump raised funds with appeals to supporters about some of his recent legal troubles, including the massive civil lawsuit over financial misconduct at the Trump Organization in which New York state Attorney General Letitia James is seeking the return of $250 million she says the company obtained in connection to false statements of value for its assets. Trump, of course, continues all-but-saying he’ll be running for president again in 2024, keeping up a stream of public appearances as the midterms approach their conclusion. Repeatedly, rally appearances by the former president ostensibly supporting Republican candidates have devolved into Trump just promoting his personal grievances.
Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons
