President Donald Trump began the 2020 presidential election season early, gaining an incredible $15 million in private donations during the month of December, according to a Politico report published Tuesday.
Politico originally reported Trump raised $11 million, but the Playbook newsletter published Wednesday raised the amount to $15 million for the last month in 2016. The money went to either Trump’s campaign account, or one of two campaign committees created in tandem with the Republican Party. Trump’s campaign went into the new year with $16 million in cash reserves.
Trump’s campaign spent $32 million throughout December primarily on staffing, office space rents, and keeping political consultants on the payroll, according to the report filed with the FEC. Trump announced earlier this month he plans on keeping the campaign office located in Trump Tower in New York City open with a skeleton crew, something Politico asserts is unusual for past presidents, who tended to rely on their respective party operations after winning office.
Trump donated over $160 million of his own money towards the campaign, and won the White House by spending a comparatively paltry $600 million throughout the course of the general election. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton spent over $1.2 billion during the campaign, close to double the amount Trump spent.
The Clinton campaign also filed for December, asserting that it raised $2.8 million, but reported expenditures of $3.7 million during the month of December.
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