Donald Trump is unconcerned about lagging $40 million behind Hillary Clinton in campaign cash
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
For Donald Trump, trailing his likely general election opponent by $40 million in campaign cash is no big problem. In an interview with Fox and Friends on Tuesday — just a day after the latest Federal Election Commission filing revealed that Hillary Clinton started the month of June with $42.5 million on hand, while Trump had just $1.3 million — Trump tried to pass off the cash discrepancy as a weakness for Hillary Clinton. "We want to keep it lean. I'm not looking to spend all this money," Trump said, pointing out that his campaign was different because he wasn't the typical politician. "You know, I hear people spend a billion dollars. I'm saying, how do you spend a billion dollars? It's impossible. Politicians are the only ones who can spend a billion dollars. Hillary Clinton will spend a billion dollars of Wall Street money and money from the Middle East."
Moreover, Trump contended, even if he is having trouble raising funds because of the Republican Party's hesitancy to embrace him as its candidate, he can just use his own money like he did in the presidential primary. "I have a lot of cash and I can do like I did with the other — just spend money on myself and go happily along, and I think I win that way," Trump said, though he admitted in an interview with NBC's Today show that "it would be nice to have some help from the party."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Earth is rapidly approaching a ‘hothouse’ trajectory of warmingThe explainer It may become impossible to fix
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs