WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign said Wednesday that it had raised $210 million in August, far short of the $365 million haul by Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign, as the president's fundraising advantage over his opponent continues to evaporate.
The Trump campaign said the total raised by the re-election effort, the Republican National Committee and affiliated joint fundraising committees included $76 million raised during the Republican National Convention, compared with $70 million brought in by the Democrats during their convention. The Trump campaign said August was the largest online fundraising month for the re-election effort.
The campaign has been looking to conserve cash in recent weeks, going off the airwaves twice in key states to conserve cash and redirect ad dollars to early voting battlegrounds. The president told reporters ahead of his acceptance speech that one of the reasons he was leaning toward using the White House as the venue for that event was to save money.
“The Trump campaign will have all the resources we need to spread the message of President Trump’s incredible record of achievement, on the ground and on the air, and define Joe Biden as a tool of the radical left,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien in an email to supporters announcing the fundraising total.
Biden's presidential campaign announced last week that it had raised a record monthly haul of $365 million in August, a busy month that included the addition of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., to the ticket as well as the Democratic National Convention.
There has been a shrinking appetite from some major GOP donors to give more, especially after many wrote large checks for a convention that never materialized; others may have already contributed the legal maximum. The rising reluctance has left the campaign more reliant on smaller donors who may also be feeling their own financial strain from the economic downturn, said Republican donors and strategists.
Trump said Tuesday he’d be willing to put his own money into the campaign if needed, repeating his 2016 pledge to do the same.
