Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
the donald
Half a million dollars on hats? The eye-popping details of Trump's campaign finance report
Making America Great. One baseball hat at a time.
- Australia's largest state hits record-high COVID-19 cases despite weeks of strict lockdown. 'It's a tinderbox ready to explode,' one official said.
- eToro says crypto made up 73% of trading commissions in the last quarter, as retail customers dived in
- A flight attendant says she was too exhausted to report a passenger who shoved her when a flight was overbooked: report
- US jobless claims climb for first time in 5 weeks, to 353,000
BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN DONALD Trump is no longer self-funding his presidential campaign — at least for now.
The Republican front-runner filed his quarterly campaign finance report this week — and it is filled with eye-popping details.
For example, he spent more than $500,000 just on hats and related apparel.
Trucker-style hats bearing Trump’s campaign slogan — “Make America Great Again” — became a hit fashion accessory over the summer. In order to purchase the hats, people had fork over either $25 or $30 to Trump’s presidential bid.
But even more striking, Trump received almost $4 million in what his campaign called “unsolicited donations.”
Trump frequently brags on the campaign trail that he is self-funding his operation. But after putting in $1.8 million of his own money to jump-start his bid, he gave just more than $100,000 to his campaign in the last three months.
Instead, the bulk of his spending came from donations, much of which were relatively small.
In a statement, Trump claimed that his initial aim was to spend far more money but his success in the polls caused him to revise his own spending plans downward.
“While our original budget was substantially higher than the amount spent, good business practices and even better ideas and policy have made it unnecessary to have spent a larger sum.
“To be number one in every poll, both state and national, and to have spent the least amount of dollars of any serious candidate is a testament to what I can do for America,” Trump said.
He added:
“This is what our country’s leaders should do for the United States – spend money wisely and win!”
Trump may need to open his own wallet again soon, however.
The real-estate mogul has been running a nearly 100% burn rate, leaving him with just $250,000 cash left in his campaign account. He said recently that he plans to start running pricey television ads.
But compared to his rivals, Trump’s report stands out. Some of the top Democratic and Republican campaigns raised and spent more than $10 million — but with some notable exceptions, not a lot to show for it. Meanwhile, some of the lagging candidates raised far less than Trump despite more aggressive fundraising efforts.
Here’s additional statistics about Trump’s report, according to his campaign:
- $3,926,511 raised during the third quarter
- 73,942 ”unsolicited donations”
- $50.46 average contribution
- $5,828,922 in total receipts
- $1,909,576 of that from Trump’s personal fortune
- $5,574,149 in total disbursements
- $254,772 cash on hand
Colin Campbell for Business Insider.
have your say