The polls might be tight, but President Joe Biden is trouncing former President Donald Trump in the race for campaign cash. Following a star-studded New York City fundraiser that hauled in over $26 million in just a few hours, it’s clear Biden has a financial advantage over his embattled challenger. This advantage provides the Biden campaign with a unique opportunity to keep fine-tuning his message, especially in response to big events like the State of the Union. This can be done with little response from his opponent, unless you count incoherent press events delivered after a day in court.
These kinds of strong fundraising totals make for great headlines. But they must also irk Trump.
According to financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee had close to $100 million in cash at the end of February. That’s more than twice as much as the comparable combined cash funds of the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee, notes Politico.
These kinds of strong fundraising totals make for great headlines. But they must also irk Trump, a man who has long tied his self-worth to his bank account. This is a reality he cannot ignore, as evidenced by the recent National Review headline: “Biden Nearly Doubles Trump Campaign’s February Fundraising Haul as Former President’s Legal Bills Mount.”
Of course, money doesn’t automatically win elections. Just ask Jeb Bush and Mike Bloomberg. How you spend your campaign funds is what matters. As a protector of the mythical Holy Grail tells Indiana Jones in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:” “You must choose, but choose wisely.” And so far, Biden has chosen wisely.
Following a spirited, and at times quite political, State of the Union address in March, Biden’s campaign made a stunning, six-week, $30 million advertising buy. So far, much of the money has been used to push two strategic ads. The first ad came out after the State of the Union and addressed Biden’s age. Designed to contrast the current president with the former occupant of the White House, it also allowed Biden to poke a little fun at himself. The second ad, “Flatline,” was released the day before the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, and led to a wacky, typo-laden Trump post on Truth Social. It seems the blow landed.
In addition to the massive ad buy, the Biden campaign has been building up its ground game. Nationally, the campaign hired 350 new staff members and added 100 offices over the past few weeks. Having a strong ground operation allows team Biden to develop strategic messages that can be delivered in a more localized, targeted way. Normally we do not see this type of spending until the convention.
Biden’s operational spending strategy stands in stark contrast with Trump’s spending. Through his fundraising committees, Trump spent more than $50 million on legal fees in 2023, and according to The New York Times, spent about $10 million on legal fees in January and February of this year.
Trump would be wise to remember the trouble he got into in August of 2020.
Trump would be wise to remember the trouble he got into in August of 2020. As Biden poured money into battleground-state TV ads, Trump had to go dark in several states where early voting was about to begin.
The Associated Press recently interviewed Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra, who highlighted Trump’s currently lean operation in the critical state. “We’ve got the skeleton right now,” Hoekstra said. “We’re going to have to put more meat on it.”
The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, has its hands full. New RNC co-chair Lara Trump has already fired dozens of RNC employees as the organization cleans house and installs Trump loyalists. Despite the churn, it has managed to create a funding mechanism to help pay Trump’s legal fees via Trump’s campaign committee and PACs.
So while Biden is out there raising money, refining his message to voters and building up his field operations, Trump is funneling donations to pay his legal bills and holding press events around his court appearance. That’s a narrative the Biden team should like.
