President Biden’s campaign entered March with $71 million cash on hand, giving him a significant fundraising advantage over former president Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign had over $33.5 million cash on hand at the start of the month, with the campaign struggling to keep up with expenses such as advertising, travel, and campaign events. Trump’s legal bills have also been mounting, with his campaign and supporting super PACs spending over $10 million in 2024 alone on legal fees. Save America PAC, which pays for most of Trump’s legal defenses, spent over $5.5 million on legal bills in February alone, adding to the over $8.5 million spent so far this year.
Last year, Trump’s political action committees spent nearly $50 million on legal bills. In comparison, Biden’s campaign raised $21.3 million in February and spent around $6.3 million. The Democratic National Committee raised $16.6 million in February, outpacing the Republican National Committee by $6 million for the month. When combined with affiliated joint fundraising committees, Biden’s campaign had a total of $155 million in their war chest going into March. Biden’s campaign spent over $2.5 million on a special escrow account for travel costs that will be sent to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for government plane, helicopter, and car trips.
The costs of Mr. Biden’s travel are significant, with Marine One helicopters costing $16,700 to $20,000 per hour and Air Force One travel running about $200,000 per hour. The Biden campaign’s spending expenditures also included $1.6 million on media buys or production and payroll payments for 141 staffers. The campaign planned to add 100 field staffers in March and launch a $30 million ad buy over six weeks. In contrast, the Trump campaign, Republican National Committee, and supporting political action committees had just over $74 million cash on hand to start the month, with the primary super PAC supporting Trump starting March with over $25.5 million cash on hand.
Despite Trump’s fundraising shortfalls, Biden and his campaign have been taunting the Trump campaign about their financial difficulties. Biden joked at a Dallas fundraiser about being unable to help Trump with his debt troubles, highlighting the financial disparities between the two campaigns. The RNC has been lagging behind its Democratic counterpart, with mass layoffs and new leadership contributing to financial challenges. The RNC netted only an additional $2.6 million in February after expenditures, finally surpassing eight digits in cash on hand at the end of the month with over $11.3 million.
Overall, the Biden campaign has a significant fundraising advantage over the Trump campaign, with a total of $155 million in their war chest going into March. Trump’s campaign, on the other hand, has been struggling to keep up with expenses, including legal fees and travel costs. Biden’s campaign has been focusing on building up staff and launching a substantial ad buy, while Trump’s campaign continues to face financial challenges.
