[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – Donald J. Trump's first campaign financial report, released in July 2015, revealed a tiny operation run by a handful of Loyalists working in a two-room suite at Trump Tower and financed almost entirely by loans of 1.8 million dollars from the candidate.
More than three years later, the situation is radically different. The reports tabled this week show that President Trump is sitting at the top of a sophisticated data-driven fundraising machine, which has already grossed more than $ 106 million – the majority of which came from small donors, none did not come from Mr. Trump's pocket – and spent more for his hats "Make America Great Again", $ 2 million, than his efforts in 2016 had spent on the entire campaign in his first report.
Even after the expensive investments in digital advertising, data analysis and other tools of the modern campaign, the three committees that make up Mr. Trump's campaign apparatus have entered this month- with a remarkable $ 47 million to the bank, according to their documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. .
This far outweighs the earliest benefits accumulated by previous presidents of the modern era at the time of election campaign funding – none of them even began to raise funds for re-election before their first mid-term elections – and this gives Mr. Trump a considerable lead over any prospect. rivals.
But the stockpile prompted some Republican strategists to complain, claiming – mostly privately – that the money would be better allocated to candidates at the party's party-at-risk congress. radically raised by their Democratic opponents.
Mr. Trump, they argue, no longer needs this money as much as the party's congressional candidates, as he will no longer face voters for more than two years and he will have won more. his 2016 campaign relying on his media and Twitter. feed only on an expensive campaign infrastructure.
Even some of Mr. Trump's supporters admit that his quick fundraising and spending may be more a matter of self-preservation than party building.
"The president is anxious to keep his power, and some of his power lies in the money and small donors," said Sam Nunberg, one of the first employees of Mr. Trump's 2016 campaign . Mr. Nunberg is now a senior advisor to a political action committee created by former Trump's former chief strategist at the White House, Stephen K. Bannon, who is making a mid-year effort. – to urge voters to support candidates who wanted to help Mr. Trump save the president from a possible push impeachment by Democrats.
"It was important that the president set up this massive operation for re-election to demonstrate that it would be foolish for anyone within the party to try to give it priority, and because we do not know what will happen in the country. Room with a possible impeachment, "said Mr. Nunberg.
But he also said that "one of the reasons that Republicans have been mobilized, especially in the House, is because of the huge amount of money that goes to the president. This could tip a seat or two.
Trump's political team said he traveled the country participating in dozens of rallies with candidates in major states and districts, most of which included a fundraising component.
But some Republicans have asked how rallies help the party, noting that the president often focuses more on himself and his reelection effort in 2020 than on the congressional candidates that he is supposed to stimulate. They often receive little more than comings and goings during Mr. Trump's sinuous speeches, which often take place on land that vulnerable Republican candidates might prefer to avoid.
Mr. Trump's campaign committees paid the bills for these rallies, spending more than $ 2.1 million on related expenses, according to the documents filed with the electoral commission.
Reports also show that Mr. Trump's campaign committee By the end of July, $ 214,000 had been donated to over 100 Republican candidates in Congress.
And he led fundraisers for the Republican Congress National Committee and the National Committee of Republican Senators. His political team estimates that his efforts yielded more than $ 100 million to Republican candidates in the House, Senate and Governor, although there is no way to independently corroborate this claim through the archives of the electoral commission.
The records show that two joint committees formed by Trump's campaign with the Republican National Committee – Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again – have transferred more than $ 21 million to national party committees and Republican parties to help the mid-point.
But it's far less than the $ 35 million that the joint committees transferred to Mr. Trump's campaign.
Compared to former presidents, Mr. Trump's fundraising efforts – which also include participation in events for unlimited funds outside of groups formed to advance his agenda and his allies – seem to be more focused on his own political objectives than those of his party, said Michael J. Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a non-partisan think tank analyzing fundraising and campaign spending.
"It's not unusual that presidents focus on their own needs and political interests, but I do not remember having been so focused on previous presidents before their first semester," said Mr. Malbin. "Given the importance of majority control in its future agenda, I would have expected the balance to be more towards decisive races for the Senate and the House."
This month, Mr. Trump dismissed the possibility that he would assume some responsibilities if his party lost a lot in mid-term next month, claiming that his rallies and sponsorships had provided more dynamism than the candidates of former presidents .
"I do not think anyone has ever had that kind of impact," Trump said. told the Associated Press during an interview with an oval office. Mr. Trump added that "to the old," the support of a president "would be nice to have, but it meant nothing, zero. Like literally zero. Some of the people I endorsed earned 40 and 50 points just after being endorsed. "
But Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who had advised Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio, one of Mr. Trump's rivals, in his bid for the White House in 2016, argued that Mr. Trump had harmed the Fundraising of his party in his first year in office by repeatedly confronting with Republicans of Congress.
"Helping Republicans in Congress has not been a priority for Trump before these past few weeks," said Conant. "Nobody blames him for raising funds for his re-election campaign, but if the Democrats win it, it may be the most expensive fundraising ever by a president."
In total, Trump committees spent more than $ 13.7 million on digital consulting, online advertising and data services, making it one of the largest areas of spending. These expenses highlight the differences between Trump's candidacy for re-election and his first campaign, which initially withstood heavy spending on political data tools that have become essential for most modern campaigns. Expenditure reports indicate that the main goal of Trump's campaign is to leverage data to mobilize and mobilize funds from supporters through social media, SMS targeting and email.
The campaign has recently started American Made Media Consultants, which has received $ 1.7 million since May, has transferred much of its online spending and advertising to a company created as a center for processing these expenses, according to documents deposited by the electoral commission.
Another major area of spending is legal fees, for which Trump committees spent more than $ 6 million, due to both the usual costs of complying with the electoral law and efforts to respond to ongoing investigations. on the interference of Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
And the committees have donated more than $ 860,000 to Trump's companies for everything from rent to catering to office supplies.
Source link
