Sep 8, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Where the Trump campaign's money went

Lead story of today's New York Times
Lead story of today's New York Times

In a deeply reported article on "How Trump's Billion-Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage," the N.Y. Times' Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman found some unusual spending by the Trump campaign.

Why it matters: Money concerns are very real for President Trump's campaign — an unusual predicament for a sitting president, and one that worries veteran Republican operatives.

Details:

  • "Super Bowl ads that cost $11 million."
  • "$156,000 for planes to pull aerial banners in recent months."
  • "Nearly $110,000 to Yondr, a company that makes magnetic pouches used to store cellphones during fundraisers so that donors could not secretly record Trump and leak his remarks."
  • "[M]ore than $1 million in ads aired in the Washington, D.C., media market," which the Times characterizes as a "Trump-pleasing expense."
  • "[A]bout $4 million into the Trump family businesses since 2019."
  • "Hershey Company, the chocolate-maker ($337,000), which cover costs for items such as the White House-branded M&Ms given away by administrations of both parties."
  • Former campaign manager Brad Parscale "had a car and driver, an unusual expense for a campaign manager."

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