President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has far outpaced that of former president Donald Trump in fundraising as the former president’s legal bills mount.
The Biden campaign raised $21.3 million in February while spending $6.3 million over the same span, contributing to a total of $114.7 million raised and $45.1 million spent since Biden announced his reelection bid in April 2023, filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission Wednesday show. Biden currently has $71 million cash on hand.
Trump’s campaign raised $10.9 million and spent $7 million in February. Since launching in November 2022, the Trump campaign has raised $99.4 million and spent $66 million, leaving $33.3 million in the bank.
While Democrats have out-raised Republicans across the country to this point in the 2024 election cycle, Trump’s presence on the ballot presents a unique challenge for the GOP: Political action committees associated with the former president spent roughly $50 million on Trump’s legal expenses in 2023.
Trump is facing 88 criminal charges across four criminal cases, as well as two civil suits. While the criminal cases — New York hush money, Georgia election-interference, federal election-interference, and the classified-documents case — have yet to go to trial, Trump has been ordered to pay vast sums of money in relation to the two civil proceedings.
The Save America PAC, which Trump has used to cover his legal expenses, spent nearly $5.6 million in legal fees in February, outpacing the amount it raised, a Wednesday FEC filing shows. And Trump still owes the law firm of Alina Habba 530,000 for her work on the New York civil-fraud case
A federal judge in February ruled that Trump owed E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million after a jury ruled that the former president defamed the author who accused him of sexual assault, and Trump has been unable to secure a bond to cover a $454 million judgment in a New York civil fraud case.
Looking past the Biden campaign’s $71 million cash on hand, the president’s team said earlier this week that it and affiliated committees have raised enough that the campaign has $155 million in available funds.
While Biden continues to outpace Trump, the sole remaining candidate for the Republican nomination for president has seen an increased influx of money since Nikki Haley suspended her campaign after Super Tuesday. The combination of Trump’s campaign and joint fundraising committee received $20.3 million in February. That number was under $14 million in January, the first month to feature GOP nominating contests.
A key super PAC backing the former president, Make America Great Again Inc., reported having $25.5 million in the bank at the end of February, up from $19.7 million at the close of January.
The Republican National Committee, now led by Trump allies Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, reported holding about $11.3 million cash on hand at the end of February. Whatley has knocked down speculation that the RNC will use campaign funds to cover Trump’s legal bills, and Trump campaign officials have said they will not use any RNC money to cover the former president’s fees.