With less than two weeks until Election Day, Donald Trump’s campaign is facing a “significant cash deficit” that could harm his chances against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, The Hill reported.
Although the U.S. leader began the race with a significant cash advantage over Biden and other candidates in the primary, his opponent has now overtaken him financially. Notably, the Democrat began October with over $177 million in the bank, compared to the president’s $63.1 million. Back at the beginning of the year, the head of state had $100 million in the bank, and Biden had less than $10 million.
Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman suggested that the difference in funding between the two teams in the last stretch of the election is indicative of who is performing best in the race.
“You come into the final two weeks of a campaign, those numbers really tell you a story. It shows you who has the energy, the grassroots support, and the momentum.”
Biden has notably been leading Trump in the majority of national polls for months, although some have hinted that the race is closer than they suggest.
Under the leadership of Trump’s now-fired manager Brad Parscale, the campaign spent large amounts of money — even before Biden was nominated. According to GOP strategist Doug Heye, a significant amount of the funds went to consultants that charged “exorbitant fees.”
“It is not your typical campaign funding and it is not your typical consultant driven campaign,” he said.
“If he is getting outspent in key states and the Biden campaign still has more resources that they can put in… that puts Trump at a disadvantage.”
Despite the supposed financial troubles, the Trump campaign broke its online fundraising record on Friday by raising $26 million during the hours surrounding his Thursday debate against Biden. In particular, the team raked in 30 percent more money than any 24-hour period during both this year’s cycle and his original bid in 2016.
Current manager Bill Stepien also pointed to resources the campaign is funneling into Minnesota for a new hefty advertising purchase. Although the state has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since 1972, Trump and his allies are deploying its resource into the region based on a strategy that would harness backlash against police brutality protests to help drive Republican turnout.
Trump campaign national press secretary Samantha Zager also attempted to brush off concerns about finances and suggested Biden’s team cannot compete.
“We’re running a comprehensive campaign that incorporates our massive ground game, travel to key states, and ads on digital, TV, and radio,” she said.
