TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN IS A FLEDGLING FAMILY BUSINESSBy: Amanda Carpenter | June 21, 2016
Donald Trump may be new to politics but even he should know his campaign is going poorly when the firing of his longtime, loyal campaign manager isn’t the worst news of the day.
FEC reports made public Monday night showed that the Donald J. Trump for President campaign ended the month of May with a paltry $1.3 million cash on hand — even after he lent his campaign $2.2 million in personal funds.
Comparatively, Hillary Clinton has $42 million in the bank. Trump’s former primary rival, Ted Cruz, had more money in the bank when he suspended his campaign — 6.8 million — than Trump does as the presumptive GOP nominee with the convention only one month away.
It gets worse, too.
Clinton's main Super PAC, Priorities USA, has $52 million. Trump still has no designated Super PAC and has yet to bless a Super PAC to work on his behalf. He hasn’t aired any ads since becoming the nominee; Clinton has reportedly spent $26 million on the airwaves in the last month. Reports also show that Trump has 69 people being paid by the campaign; Clinton has 685.
By every objective measure, Trump is being massively outgunned.
Think the Republican National Committee is going to save Trump?
The RNC ended May with $19.9 million cash on hand. Last election, the RNC ended the month of May 2012 with nearly $76 million cash on hand. Raising money then was easier. After Mitt Romney effectively became the nominee, the RNC raised $34 million. It was also boosted by a joint fundraising committee with Romney that brought in another $25 million.
By every objective measure, Trump is being massively outgunned.
Trump does have one less paycheck to sign with the Monday morning firing of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — led by Trump’s children — who was known for his call to “let Trump be Trump.”
As if Lewandowski had any other choice.
The phrase "let Trump be Trump" isn't any kind of inspiring motto. It's a survival tactic for those who can't tell the egomaniac anything different. Like, perhaps, he shouldn't be billing hundreds of thousands of dollars to his own companies.
The FEC’s latest documents also show that the Trump campaign in the month of May paid $493,000 in rental fees for Trump's well-known Mar-A-Lago Golf Club and Resort; $350,000 went to pay for Trump’s private jet.
This follows a trend over the course of the campaign.
Fortune Magazine found Trump directs roughly 10 percent of his campaign cash to his own entities. Previous reports show large amounts of money being spent at Trump’s golf course in Miami, Trump National Doral, his bottled water company, Trump Ice, and his winery.
The Fortune profile also found that over the course of his campaign, Trump spent $4.7 million on hats and t-shirts as well.
Trump, for his part, seems like he will continue business as usual. Instead of fundraising, Trump is scheduled to travel to Scotland later this week for the opening of the new Trump Turnberry golf course.
If there’s any consolation in these numbers, however, it’s the fact that Trump only seems to be wasting his own money on these businesses — not much of anyone else’s since hardly anyone is donating to him.
Trump is just moving his own money around. To date, he’s given his campaign nearly $50 million in personal funds.
In fact, it’s easier to think of the Trump campaign not as a presidential campaign, but rather a fledgling family business.
- See more at:
https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/06/trumps-campaign-is-a-fledgling-family-business#sthash.66XM2B2U.dpuf
