Ever since announcing his candidacy for president last June, Donald Trump has often bragged about being "self funding." While that might have been the case for the first 11 months of the primary season, his campaign has blown through almost all of its cash.
Trump low on cash
Despite claiming to be a billionaire, Trump's campaign is having some serious money issues. Media outlets and political pundits didn't take Trump too serious when he arrived on the scene last summer, but he's surprised many by weathering the constant storm of controversy by clinching the Republican nomination.
With his eyes now set on the general election, Trump is expected to have a tough battle on his hands against Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton, and not just at the ballot box, as reported by The Washington Examiner on May 28.
Trump's campaign has alerted senators he won't have much money to fend off Clinton attacks https://t.co/3ngvWFAi1P pic.twitter.com/WeN85s3Nrd
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 29, 2016
According to a report in The Washington Examiner on Saturday, the Trump campaign has informed Senate Republicans that he won't have enough money to compete in the general election against Clinton. Senior campaign advisor, Paul Manafort, confirmed the issue during a meeting with a group of chief of staffs for various Republican members of the senate.
"They know that they're not going to have enough money to be on TV in June and probably most of July, until they actually accept the nomination and get RNC funds," an anonymous source told The Washington Examiner, stating, "They (Trump campaign) plan to just use earned media to compete on the airwaves."
Though Trump and the Republican National Committee have been at odds for some time, the campaign's lack of funds might force the two to reconcile.
Despite this, another anonymous GOP donor admitted that if Trump struggles against Clinton, the RNC might "put that money toward Senate races and House races," instead of investing it in the former host of "The Apprentice." The in-fighting between Trump and the RNC has been well-documented, and if the GOP nominee is unable to walk out the winner in November, he's expected to put the blame on the party.
Election outlook
The upcoming race between Trump and Clinton is expected to be tight and the most controversial in recent times. According to Real Clear Politics most recent rolling average, the two candidates are tied, as both are polling within the margin of error.