In his attempt to avoid dipping into his own funds, Trump is drawing primarily on money from his Save America PAC to pay his ever-mounting legal fees. He’s also spending cash from the Make America Great Again PAC, the current incarnation of his 2020 re-election committee. Those accounts were once flush with cash: In the aftermath of the 2020 election, he raised more than $200 million by selling his supporters on the lie that he was going to expose mass fraud. But since then, Trump has been indicted in four criminal cases and faced several major civil suits, leaving those accounts struggling to stay in the black as the cash on hand has dwindled.
The costs Trump faces are only going to go up as the year goes on, along with his ability to afford time off the campaign trail. His New York state civil trials have wrapped, with the E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict costing him $83 million and another judge poised to hand down millions of dollars in damages against his company. But the criminal cases still loom, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money trial due to start in March. Trump’s federal election interference case, which was scheduled to start in March, as well, is likely to be delayed as the courts continue to deal with his farkakteh immunity claim — but those delay tactics still cost money as they continue up to the Supreme Court.
While it’s true that the Trump campaign is apparently more functional than it was the last two times around, the amount of funding available will play a major part in determining whether that lasts. At the same time, though, there’s not a guarantee that the steady outflow from Trump’s campaign to his lawyers’ pockets will be a drag on him come November. His unique position could be enough to blunt the effect that such a huge line item might have on other campaigns.
Unless former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley stays in the race longer than expected, the primary season will be over almost before it had begun. That will allow the campaign to access new donors and tap funds that could be used only in the general election. Trump is also a former incumbent, one whose policies and positions are widely known among his supporters. He has near-universal name recognition and can spend most of his time attacking President Joe Biden rather than trying to introduce himself or his plans. There’s no indication, either, that his supporters are set to slow their financial support for him, even if 10 cents of every dollar they send him are being funneled to his legal defense. |
