Pro-Trump committees have already spent more than 8 times what his whole campaign did in 2016


President Trump's very open wallet doesn't exactly seem to be paying off.
So far in this campaign, pro-Trump committees have spent a whopping $531 million on his 2020 re-election campaign, The Washington Post reports. That's more than eight times what Trump's campaign spent by the time he effectively secured the GOP nomination in 2016, but in polls matching him up with Democratic contenders, he's still falling behind.
Trump has had no trouble raking in funding throughout the 2020 race, raising a combined $125 million in tandem with the Republican National Committee in the third fundraising quarter. For comparison, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) topped the Democrats with $25.3 million that quarter. That haul has allowed Trump to pour dollars into Democratic attack ads, with committees spending $10 million on them already, per the Post. Trump is also increasing his consulting power, hiring just 19 consultants to work on his campaign in 2016 but employing more than 200 today.
Subscribe to 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.
But all that spending doesn't mean Trump will be able to secure the swing states he scored last time around. A national Fox News poll in August put former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) over Trump by at least six points each, while a Quinnipiac University poll in October maintained Biden, Sanders and Warren's success.
Biden has meanwhile been beating Trump in Texas since April of this year, per a poll, while a September poll showed five other Democrats were topping Trump as well. Of course, if there's anything we learned in 2016, it's that polls involving Trump aren't always on target.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
Speed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
Knives come out for Pam Bondi
IN THE SPOTLIGHT She wasn't Trump's first pick to lead the Justice Department. After months of scandals and setbacks, is the attorney general's MAGA shelf life winding down?
-
Can Gaza aid drops work?
Today's Big Question UN's Palestinian refugee agency calls plan a 'distraction and smokescreen' as pressure mounts on Israel to agree ceasefire and fully open land crossings