Takeaways from the 2024 cash dash: Biden beats Trump
Donald Trump faces a cash crunch as he tries to defend himself in court, lock down the GOP and turn to a general election vs. increasingly money-flush Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is facing a cash crunch as he tries to defend himself in court, lock down the Republican nomination and turn toward a general election rematch with an increasingly money-flush President Joe Biden.
Campaign finance records filed Wednesday show the main super PAC supporting Trump's campaign, MAGA Inc., spent more than it raised in the last six months of 2023 — primarily by transferring back $30 million to Save America, the main vehicle for paying the former president's prodigious legal fees. Similarly, Trump's official campaign blew through more cash than it took in over the last three months of the year.
That suggests that Trump's recent threats to blackball Republican donors who don't give to him are about more than just loyalty: He also needs the money.
By comparison, Biden's campaign ended the year with $46 million in cash, far more than the $33 million Trump's campaign held before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Future Forward, the main super PAC backing Biden, held a little bit more in the bank than MAGA Inc., $24 million to $23.3 million, at the end of the year.
Democrats crowed Wednesday night that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are stockpiling money for campaign purposes, rather than legal fights.
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