Former President Donald Trump‘s longtime persona as a brash billionaire who enjoyed firing contestants on the game show The Apprentice has come under heavy assault as he struggles to pay off a $454 million judgment.
President Joe Biden‘s campaign has brandied Trump as “Broke Don,” a moniker meant to get under the former president’s skin ahead of their 2024 matchup in November.
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Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have struggled to match the fundraising prowess of both Biden and the Democratic National Committee.
But some GOP strategists told the Washington Examiner that the Biden campaign’s taunting and fundraising advantage over Trump won’t be enough to ruin Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“Joe Biden of all people should be very careful over the next six, seven, eight months questioning other people’s savvy,” said Matt Dole, a Republican political consultant based in Ohio. “Given the special prosecutor’s report about his mental acuity, he should be very careful about those sorts of attacks. There’s a lot of things you can attack Donald Trump on. I think the Democrats pretty consistently choose the wrong things. And this may very well be one of them.”
In an email sent Thursday, the Biden campaign touted its 4-to-1 fundraising advantage over Trump while attacking him for struggling with small donors who are slowing their financial support for the former president.
“We are two weeks into the general election and Donald Trump can’t raise money, is hiding at his country club, and is letting convicts and conspiracy theorists take over his campaign,” Biden spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “That is not a winning strategy.”
Trump’s campaign and the affiliated Save America political action committee raised $15.9 million in February and had $37 million cash on hand. In contrast, the Biden campaign raised $53 million last month and had $155 million cash on hand.
Dole, though, said the financial crunch Trump faces will likely not hurt his reputation with GOP voters.
“His supporters are willing to look past a lot of things,” he said. “And in the view of the legal process, and what I believe Trump’s supporters think about the legal process, they’re willing to let a lot of things go. I don’t know that the president needs to message that he’s still a wealthy man and can weather this storm and can cover the cost of the bond. … I don’t know if that’s important to his supporters. In fact, I don’t think it is important to his supporters.”
Trump has until Monday to post the bond for the $454 million judgment stemming from the New York civil fraud case. But after his lawyers claimed he did not have the money for the bond the former president took to social media to change the narrative.
“THROUGH HARD WORK, TALENT, AND LUCK, I CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WHICH I INTENDED TO USE IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” he posted on Truth Social Friday.
If Trump fails to post an appeal bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James could begin collection on his business and real estate interests in New York City, including Trump Tower and Trump National Golf Club Westchester.
Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist based in Florida, claimed that the fundraising problems Trump is facing will decrease as the general election campaign continues.
“It’s always concerning in an election when your opponent has more access to campaign funds than you do,” O’Connell said. “Now do I think that Trump’s fundraising will pick up? Certainly I do. This is not uncommon territory for Trump. And what he’s shown himself to be able to do is to do less with more. He won in 2016, you had a very close election in 2020. And I’m not sure necessarily that money would have changed that as much as not having COVID.”
After installing close allies at the RNC including chairman Michael Whatley and daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chairwoman, a new fundraising operation has begun.
The joint agreement stipulates that donations to the Trump 47 Committee go first to the Trump campaign and then the Save America PAC, a committee that helps pay Trump’s legal fees, before the RNC or state Republican parties see any of the finances.
Some Republicans put off by Trump claimed that his money problems are but another reason they will not support the former president.
“Here’s what I hear from the voters on our website: They have real concerns that Donald Trump is running in 2024 not for the American people and not for them, but for Donald Trump,” said John Conway, director of strategy for Republican Voters Against Trump. “And I think they see him talk about retribution against his political enemies. They see the takeover of the RNC by Lara Trump to pay Donald Trump’s legal bills. They see his 91 [felony charges] against him as justified and legitimate.”
Conway said that “turns off a lot of Republican voters because they have real concerns about the direction of the country.”
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Trump leads Biden 46.7% to 44.7% according to a RealClearPolitics average of hypothetical matchups. But with roughly eight more months until Election Day, any national or international crisis could change polling narratives.
The Trump campaign did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
