WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden may be struggling against Donald Trump in the polls ahead of November’s US presidential election, but his numbers are looking good in one department: campaign cash.
The Democrat holds a widening lead over his Republican rival in the fund-raising stakes, while Trump is burning through legal fees as he battles multiple criminal and civil cases.
The cash crunch has also given 81-year-old Mr Biden a new line of attack on the campaign trail, as he mocks the self-proclaimed billionaire tycoon for his mounting financial woes.
“Just the other day, a defeated-looking guy came up to me and said, ‘Mr President, I need your help, I’m being crushed with debt, I’m completely wiped out,’” he told a fund-raising event in Dallas, Texas, on March 20.
“Donald, I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” Mr Biden said he responded, in a punchline that drew laughs and applause from an audience of supporters.
Mr Biden’s financial advantage may help calm Democratic nerves as America’s oldest president suffers from record low approval ratings, less than seven months from his rematch with Trump.
Mr Biden’s campaign boasted US$71 million (S$96 million) of cash in hand at the end of February – more than double Trump’s US$33.5 million, filings with the US Federal Election Commission showed on March 20.
The incumbent’s campaign raised US$21.3 million in February alone, again nearly double Trump’s US$10.9 million. Mr Biden, meanwhile, spent US$6.3 million in the month, but Trump spent more – US$7.8 million.
Those figures, however, do not show the complete picture for either candidate, as filings from their various fund-raising committees will not be made until April.
Mr Biden’s campaign said at the weekend that it had raised more than US$53 million in February, leaving it with a “historic” total of US$155 million, which it said was the most by any Democrat at this stage in the election cycle.
‘Dumpster fire’
Perhaps the most worrying element for Trump are his giant legal fees as he faces criminal cases, including for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and keeping secret documents.
Lawyers’ bills accounted for a huge US$5.6 million of the money spent in February by Trump’s Save America political action committee – money that could otherwise be going towards campaigning and TV spots.
The figures add to Trump’s woes as he struggles to raise a US$464 million bond to appeal a fine by a New York court for fraudulently inflating his wealth.
The 77-year-old now faces having his assets seized in a humiliating blow to his carefully cultivated image as a dealmaker and self-made tycoon.
Trump cast the fraud case as a “witch-hunt”, seeking as he often does to use the legal cases against him to whip up his supporters – and get them to open their wallets.
“I’m calling on ONE MILLION Pro-Trump patriots to chip in and say: STOP THE WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!” a campaign message on March 20 said. The message was titled “KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF TRUMP TOWER”, his flagship New York property that could be at risk from the court case.
Earlier in March, Trump managed to put together a separate bond for US$91.6 million as he appeals a sexual assault and defamation judgment in a lawsuit brought by New York writer E. Jean Carroll.
Mr Biden’s campaign described Trump’s finances as a “dumpster fire”. “Trump’s filings paint a bleak picture for Republicans,” Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa wrote on March 21.
But with a tight election looming and Trump leading Mr Biden in key swing states in recent polls, Democrats will be trying to keep their war chest as full as possible.
Mr Biden will be joined at a fund-raiser in New York on March 28 by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the first event of its kind to feature three Democratic presidents and among the most lucrative in party history.
The gala show is set to raise US$10 million for Mr Biden’s campaign, with guests having to fork out US$100,000 each to pose in a photo with the 42nd, 44th and 46th US presidents, NBC News reported. AFP
