US election: Clinton burying Trump with $42m
Donald Trump faces an extraordinary money deficit unheard of in modern presidential politics, entering the month with tens of millions of dollars less than Hillary Clinton.
Clinton's campaign had $42 million in the bank as of May 31, according to its report filed with the Federal Election Commission Monday. Her super PAC Priorities USA has $52 million.
Trump's campaign has $1.3 million, the CNN reports.
The gulf emerges as Democrats lay out plans to spend that cash on an onslaught of television advertising that Trump has shown no urgency in matching. Clinton and her allied groups are planning to spend $117 million between Tuesday and Election Day on television -- much of it anti-Trump television -- while Trump and his groups have $700,000 in time awaiting him thus far.
Trump, who just began actively fundraising last month with a $3.1 million haul, also has a super PAC benefiting him -- but it has only $500,000 in the bank. Two other big-money groups will not be required to disclose their fundraising position until next month.
The New York billionaire can presumably close the money gap with one check, but hasn't indicated he will do so. The candidate and his allies have consistently emphasized the ability to run a leaner campaign than Clinton's.
There is good reason to think the May gap will close substantially: The two remaining pro-Trump groups are expected to announce big hauls next month, and Trump in June launched an aggressive fundraising swing with 10 events in nine days that raised more than $8 million, according to one source. And his joint fundraising agreement with the RNC -- which allows for checks at $450,000 at a time -- was only born in the final days of May.
Yet Trump is attempting to raise $500 million even as he essentially builds a money network from scratch. And questions persist about whether he will even hit that low target.
That has spawned a new round of frustration from Republican elites and donors, which spilled out Monday with the firing of Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Some Republicans have begun to wonder whether they can depose Trump at the convention, with anti-Trump delegates and supporters beginning to publicly organize their efforts.