Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign is cracking down on spending in preparation for its likely rematch with President Joe Biden this November.
Senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita are cutting all unnecessary spending, aiming to spend every cent possible on voter outreach. The decision is influenced primarily by memories of financial mismanagement of Trump’s 2020 campaign and his astronomical legal bills, which are poised to rise even higher.
“Any organization that is concerned, or at least puts that level of concern, at the forefront, you’re gonna get better bids for business,” LaCivita told CNN. “If you’re not spending the majority of your money on touching voters and pushing your candidate, then you’re not running a good campaign.”
The strategy can be readily seen in a visit to Trump’s campaign headquarters, one senior adviser to Trump detailed.
“Anyone that’s ever worked on a campaign knows that, at the headquarters, the furniture should be functional, and that’s it. Mismatched and functional is the decor of the Trump campaigns’ offices,” they told the outlet. “We don’t have mahogany desks, and if we do, they’re 200 years old and they’re falling apart.”
Central to the fears of the campaign is a repeat of 2020, when the campaign “went broke,” the adviser told CNN.
“From our standpoint, we look at everything through that prism,” they said. “The leadership of the campaign is intent on ensuring that that does not happen in this campaign because that is the greatest sin that can be committed in politics.”
While the campaign has done a better job at saving money than in 2020, one major complicating factor may change that: Trump’s legal bills.
Trump’s leadership fund, Save America PAC, reportedly spent more than $50 million on legal bills in 2023, roughly 85% of its spending. It ended January with just about $6 million left.
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The entire political operation is in a similar situation. It raised an impressive $130 million in the concluding months of 2023 but began the year with just $42 million.
However, the campaign’s financial system is almost certain to improve a great deal in the coming weeks. If Trump becomes the Republican nominee, as looks likely, he will have access to the financial resources of the Republican National Committee and be allowed to accept much larger donations. Some in the RNC hope Trump will improve its financial situation as well, as they will once again have the license to use his likeness to boost fundraising.
