Where Does Trump's Campaign Money Come From

How Trump's squad spent most of the $i.half-dozen billion it raised over 2 years

By mid-October, Trump's squad had $223 one thousand thousand in the depository financial institution, filings show.

President Donald Trump'southward reelection team kicked off 2020 with what seemed like an unbeatable cash reward, boasting a massive fundraising functioning, bolstered past the joint efforts of the Republican Party.

Fast-frontward x months and they've burned through a whopping $1.4 billion of the more than than $1.6 billion raised over the last two years, struggling to go on up with former Vice President Joe Biden, more than what old President Barack Obama's reelection entrada and the Democrats had raised and spent by the end of the 2012 bike.

By mid-October, the Trump campaign and the Republican Political party reelection team were left with $223.5 one thousand thousand in the depository financial institution. The Trump campaign itself only had $43 million entering the final iii weeks of the presidential election.

The revealing figures, released equally the two presidential candidates debated on stage Thursday night for the final time before Election Twenty-four hour period, came after the entrada blew through $63 1000000 in the first two weeks of October alone -- a critical time when it only brought in $44 million. The vast majority of the coin spent during that time -- about $45 one thousand thousand -- went to television and online advertising, co-ordinate to the latest disclosure study filed to the Federal Election Commission, as Biden and pro-Biden efforts ramped up his advertizement spending.

By comparison, the Biden entrada and the Autonomous Party had a total of $331 meg in the bank by mid-Oct -- with the Biden campaign boasting $162 meg of that.

At the debate, Trump acknowledged his Autonomous challenger has raised "tremendous amounts of money" but said "every time you raise money, deals are made," a similar rhetoric he has maintained during the 2016 election as he poured more than $66 1000000 of his own money into his first White House bid. Back in 2015, he said "by self-funding my campaign, I am non controlled by my donors, special interests or lobbyists," merely later took in six-figure donations during the full general ballot. The president's massive reelection entrada this yr, has been funded entirely past similarly minor and big donors, with no contribution from the president himself.

Trump's coin fortunes accept changed dramatically in only a few months: his campaign, the Republican National Committee and their two joint fundraising committees started out $180 million ahead of the Biden campaign and the Autonomous National Committee this spring.

Republican National Committee spokesperson Mike Reed, however, maintained that the Republican Party in a "very potent fiscal position," comparison Trump'south reelection cash on manus to that of presidential campaigns from previous elections effectually this time, including Trump's 2016 campaign.

"Because nosotros have been breaking fundraising records for years, we were able to build the largest ground game operation in history," Reed said in a statement to ABC News. "This is something the Democrats simply cannot friction match, no affair how much belatedly money they raise."

Trump campaign spokesperson Samantha Zager also emphasized the Trump campaign had a lead over the Biden entrada on its "massive ground game, travel to cardinal states, and ads on digital, TV, and radio.

"As Hillary Clinton proved when she outspent us 2-to-1 in 2016, no corporeality of coin can purchase the presidency -- voters take to be enthusiastic virtually casting their ballot for a candidate, and that'southward only happening for President Trump," Zager wrote in a statement to ABC News.

Just some of the expenditures take raised eyebrows, including hundreds of millions that have gone to alleged "laissez passer-through" vendors that have been accused of masking the ultimate recipient of the money. A portion of those expenditures have been the field of study of a Federal Election Commission complaint.

So where has the president'south money gone?

Over the concluding two years, Trump'due south team has spent the largest portion of that greenbacks on advertising -- more $204 million on tv set and radio airtime and at least $286 million on diverse online, digital and text ads. Some other significant chunk -- $208 one thousand thousand -- has gone to the campaign and the Republican Party's direct mail operation, a more than traditional form of advertising.

Well-nigh $xc million was spent simply to obtain or rent donor lists. Another $21 million was spent on fundraising consulting. And another $56 million spent on campaign merchandise and donor gifts, including hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on purchasing Donald Trump Jr.'s two books, "Triggered" and "Liberal Privilege."

Reed said the RNC'due south voter contact functioning, including field, data and digital spending, take been a major part of its spending, and that by the terminate of the bicycle, the RNC lone volition accept spent $300 million on those efforts. "Nosotros are knocking over iv meg doors a week with our 2.5 1000000 stiff volunteer army, and reaching millions more on the phones," Reed said.

More than $five meg of campaign cash has as well gone to Trump'due south various hotels, resorts and other buildings over the last two years, co-ordinate to the records. Just in the last iv months, Trump Victory, which raises money from some of Trump's most generous donors spent nearly $900,000 at Trump-branded properties for facility rental and catering. Critics say political spending at Trump properties, including that from the president's own campaign, is a conflict of interest, but the campaign and the Republican Party have maintained that there's goose egg wrong with the practice since they pay market rates for venues and report the expenditures as required by law.

Another pricey line-item: legal bills. The president'southward squad has mobilized an ground forces of attorney's preparing for any potential post-Election Day legal battles, which could be costly. Over the past two years, the Trump entrada, the RNC and the shared committees take spent $41 meg on legal matters, including battling several large-name legal challenges such equally special counsel Robert Mueller'due south investigation and the congressional impeachment proceedings.

At least $55 million has been spent on payroll and other associated fees over the terminal two years, roughly the aforementioned amount spent on payroll past sometime President Barack Obama's reelection campaign in 2012. This includes more than than $600,000 -- or more than $24,000 a month -- to RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and $372,000 -- or roughly $20,000 monthly -- to Trump campaign communications managing director Tim Murtaugh. DNC Chairman Tom Perez receives near $17,500 a month, while Biden's deputy entrada manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield is paid about $9,000 a month.

Questions about staff payments

Only information technology'south difficult to glean but how much some of the president's tiptop team members are making. Much of the payments are shrouded in secrecy by a host of obscure LLCs that are hard to connect to specific individuals that receive payments under general descriptions like "consulting," "services" or "inquiry," which is common among many campaigns and groups beyond the aisle.

For example, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien hasn't received directly payments from the Trump campaign, only a firm connected to him named has. Revolution Strategies received more than than $310,000 from the campaign for "political consulting" over the last two years.

Stepien's predecessor, Brad Parscale, received more than $17 one thousand thousand through his firm Parscale Strategy for digital and political consulting over the last two years, but it'due south unclear how much of that went into his pocket.

Parscale's house, in particular, was subject of a FEC complaint in July, accusing the Trump campaign of obscuring nigh $170 1000000 worth of entrada spending over the last two years through so-chosen "laissez passer through" vendors," including Parscale's house.

In the complaint, Campaign Legal Middle claimed Parscale Strategy and American Made Media Consultants -- two companies prepare and run past campaign leadership including Parscale -- appeared to provide a variety of services to the campaign, but really served every bit "immigration house" firms that dole out contracts and payments to various subcontractors and vendors without revealing the ultimate recipients of the donor money. The lack of disclosure of the campaign'south payments to subcontractors, Campaign Legal Eye wrote in the complaint, is a violation of the FEC rule that requires campaigns to itemize disbursements to its ultimate vendors.

"Trump alleged his 2020 candidacy on his kickoff day of office and has been raising money ever since," said Brendan Fischer, the director of federal reform at Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan group. "Simply it is hard to assess how the Trump campaign has burned through the money raised considering it has bearded hundreds of millions of dollars of its spending."

American Made Media Consultants, which was gear up and run past campaign leadership in 2018, is the unmarried biggest recipient of the Trump reelection effort's money, receiving much of the massive advertising and paid media expenditures -- a whopping $453 million over the final two years, mostly for media placement and advertising, including $68 million in just the kickoff two weeks of October.

On the accusations confronting Parscale Strategy and American Made Media Consultants, Fischer said, "This scheme flies in the face of transparency requirements mandated by federal law, and information technology leaves voters and donors in the night about where the entrada's funds are really going."

At the fourth dimension the complaint was filed, Parscale told ABC News that "This is just political theater 100 days out." The Trump entrada, on the role of the ii vendors and the payments, told ABC News at that fourth dimension that the entrada complies with all campaign finance laws and regulations.

It's unclear if the Federal Election Commission has taken whatever action on the complaint.

ABC News' Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders contributed to this written report.