President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign may be strapped for cash, after it pulled television ads off the air in key swing states.
The Associated Press reported at the end of August that Democratic nominee Joe Biden had doubled what Trump spent, putting “about $80 million in states that included key battlegrounds such as Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.”
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the Trump campaign was intentionally going dark ahead of Labor Day.
“We have over $200 million worth of TV ads that are reserved (from) Labor Day until Election Day,” Miller said. “We’re speaking with voters in states as they’re starting to come online.”
The pause in television ads may have helped the campaign save up a few bucks, as financial disclosures reveal that they are trailing significantly behind Biden in terms of fundraising.
Biden and DNC raised a record-breaking $365 million in August, while the Trump campaign and RNC reported a combined $210 million.
Both numbers mark a significant uptick in fundraising and engagement. The previous one-month fundraising record was held by former President Barack Obama, who received $200 million — less than both Trump and Biden’s reported numbers.
“Both campaigns are raising massive amounts of money, but have very different priorities about how to spend it,” Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement. “In addition to advertising, President Trump’s campaign has invested heavily in a muscular field operation and ground game that will turn out our voters, while the Biden campaign is waging almost exclusively an air war. We like our strategy better.”
Trump has also considered the possibility of helping to finance his own campaign saying, “If we needed any more, I’d put it up personally, like I did in the primaries last time.” In 2016, Trump spent $66 million to fund his campaign.
