Republican anxiety over President Donald Trump’s stockpiled campaign cash has boiled over, with early voting looming for competitive midterm races while hundreds of millions of dollars sit untouched.
Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., had more than $400 million in the bank as of July 31. But with the main campaign season about to begin after Labor Day, Republican leaders are increasingly worried the money will arrive too late to spend effectively, and some suspect Trump plans to keep much of it for himself, according to The Washington Post.
Trump’s political advisers have told worried allies the group will spend heavily once the season kicks into gear, the Post reported. Trump, who must personally approve the spending, has not said what he intends to do with the cash, and his advisers have repeatedly said they will not tell reporters.
A person familiar with internal discussions told the Post that some people close to Trump now believe he has little interest in spending most of the money on this year’s midterms.
The president could funnel it to a chosen successor to preserve his influence in the next presidential race, or save it for legal bills, travel, events, and personal projects such as his Miami presidential library, which is expected to cost at least $1 billion.
The person familiar with the discussions said Trump’s team believes the flood of money into his political operation will likely dry up after the midterms, giving him further incentive to hold onto what he already has.
Some donors have already started pulling back from giving more to MAGA Inc. while it sits on its existing cash, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
Privately, Republican operatives complain the group has already missed chances to buy cheap television advertising and introduce candidates to voters before opinions harden.
A nonprofit arm of Trump’s operation, Securing American Greatness, has launched its first midterm ads, spending just under $1 million on spots touting tax cuts and lower prices for eggs and prescription drugs, according to AdImpact. One ad features Trump’s friend Dana White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
“Like, they think he’s popular or something. He’s not,” a Republican ad maker told the Post after seeing the videos.
In multiple polls, Trump’s approval rating is stuck in the mid-30 percent range, putting him at or near historic lows for a president heading into the midterm elections.
Elon Musk’s America PAC, meanwhile, has already begun advertising in Senate battlegrounds including Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine, according to Meta’s ad disclosures.
Skeptics point to Trump’s long history of treating political money as effectively his own. MAGA Inc. has spent less than $900,000 supporting one senator’s primary in South Carolina and less than $20,000 on text messages for one House member in Georgia this year, records show.
“I’m not affected by the election,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’m not running. But my party is running, and I’m going to help my party.” At a Rose Garden event on Wednesday, he vowed to spend his final 30 days traveling and giving speeches, but made no mention of his super PAC’s money.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story.
