Biden builds war chest of $117 million, while Trump spends $50 million on legal fees: Democrats rejoice that Republican ‘sets money on fire’
- Two Trump entities spent $30 million on Trump’s legal fees in just six months
- Trump faces 91 charges in four criminal cases
- Biden outraised Trump in the final quarter
President Joe Biden has surpassed former President Donald Trump in the last quarter, according to fundraising reports that also reveal the enormous toll Trump’s legal troubles are taking on his campaign’s results.
Biden has taken advantage of his entrenched position and his support among top donors by incorporating more political events into his calendar, as he did with a trio of fundraising events this week in Florida.
He raised $33 million in the last quarter, which tops Trump’s $19 million — which was down from the $25 million he raised in the third quarter. That was only slightly higher than the $17 million raised by rival Nikki Haley.
Biden now has $117 million in the bank as he prepares for a brutal potential rematch with Trump, with pundits predicting a massive TV air war between the 81-year-old and his 77-year-old predecessor. Both candidates already have high negative ratings, and Trump has led Biden in a slew of polls.
President Joe Biden has $117 million in his campaign war chest
The many lawsuits Trump is facing have helped him outpace nearly all of his Republican primary opponents as he rails against the “witch hunts” against him. But they also have Trump and the main entities supporting him and making money flow.
Trump’s Save America leadership PAC and the Make America Great Again PAC spent $56 million on legal fees last year, a figure that includes $30 million in the last half of the year.
The charges are revealed in a $30 million transfer that MAGA Inc. to Save America, which handled Trump’s legal bills.
The group raised $48 million in the second half of the year.
Trump’s legal spending by campaign entities has surpassed $50 million as he juggles numerous lawsuits
Trump’s legal bills culminated in the summer when Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the Jan. 6 case
Trump is fighting charges related to Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington, D.C., election-related charges in Georgia, a classified documents case in Florida and a criminal case in Manhattan involving hush-hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
In these cases, teams of Trump lawyers are filing briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking immunity from prosecution in the Jan. 6 case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Lawyers are challenging the Colorado court ruling that would depose him.
Trump’s latest problem was a jury’s finding that he was liable for $83 million in damages for defaming E. Jean Caroll.
The cases have regularly taken Trump off the campaign trail — though he has also used the unfavorable statements and charges against him in repeated fundraising pitches to small-dollar contributors across the country.
Biden’s $117 million in the bank still falls short of the $175 million Trump and the Republican National Committee had heading into 2020. Politics noted.
Trump’s total war chest is about $70 million. Without the legal fees, he would be on par with Biden.
Trump’s legal spending peaked in July when it topped $6 million, the Washington Post noted in its breakdown. That’s when Smith filed a superseding indictment accusing Trump of conspiring to interfere with official proceedings, deny the right to vote and defraud the US. Trump denies the charges in all his criminal cases.