Republican senators shrugged off the potential ramifications of Donald Trump’s fundraising deficit Tuesday and laughed about the possibility of the businessman self-funding his campaign as promised.
“It’s up to him to decide [whether to self-fund], it’s his money,” Marco Rubio of Florida told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in the Capitol. Rubio acknowledged that Trump’s finances were in a sorry state, with less than $1.3 million cash on hand at the start of June compared to Hillary Clinton’s $42 million.
“He’ll need more than that, that’s for sure,” Rubio said.
Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona, both of whom have said they will not endorse Trump in the general election, appeared amused by the prospect of a self-funded campaign. Asked whether Trump should pay his own way, Graham chuckled.
“He said he would,” Graham told TWS.
Flake also laughed. “I don’t want to give him advice,” he said.
As to the potential effects of Trump’s poor finances on down-ballot Republican candidates, the senators were unsure.
“I don’t know how it will play down ballot,” Graham said. “Clearly, money matters in politics to some point.”
“Depends what kind of race it is,” said Rubio, who is reportedly considering running for reelection in 2016.
“I have no idea,” said James Lankford of Oklahoma, who is running for a full term this year.
“It could be an issue,” said Mark Kirk of Illinois, who is also up for reelection.
Flake, who has declared his dislike for Trump, had a broader take. “Trump’s campaign is the problem for down-ballot candidates,” he said with a laugh.
After a Federal Election Commission report Monday revealed Trump’s low fundraising numbers, the New York businessman said that he poured $55 million of his money into the primary election and suggested that he might also do so in the general. “I spent $55 million of my own money to win the primaries. Fifty-five. That’s a lot of money by even any standard. I may do that again in the general election,” Trump said Tuesday in an interview on NBC’s Today show. “But it would be nice to have some help from the party.”
In fact, the bulk of Trump’s contributions to his own primary campaign was in the form of loans.
