Trump camp (and the media) claim big fundraising totals, but can't verify them.

[bigtree]

from WaPo:

"The full picture of the financial strength of each campaign’s effort will not be clear until later this summer, when their allied committees are required to file reports.

Trump’s advisers have attributed May’s surge in donations to donors’ desire to demonstrate their loyalty to the former president after his felony conviction. The campaign claimed it raised $53 million online in the 24 hours after the verdict, but verifying those totals was impossible Thursday because WinRed — the platform that many small donors use to contribute to Republican campaigns — will not file its FEC report for this period until July."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/20/trump-conviction-fundraising-campaign-donations/


...anyone bandying these Trump figures around like they're truth, just on the Trump campaign's word, needs to explain why they're being willing dupes of proven liars.

I mean, does this sound like a campaign flush with cash?

"The Trump campaign says it has dozens of offices across the battleground states that are operated in coordination with the Republican National Committee, but it has declined to detail the scale of its operation other than to say they have an extensive paid and volunteer operation that is “expanding daily.” The Trump campaign had not aired a single general-election ad on television as of Thursday, according to AdImpact."

...and what about where Trump is known to be spending money?

"Though Trump outpaced Biden in fundraising in April, his legal bills have strained his political operation as he has defended himself in four criminal cases. He has paid many of his legal bills for himself and some of his associates through a leadership PAC known as Save America, which typically gets a $5,000 cut from contributions of $11,600 or more to the Trump 47 committee.

Filings Thursday showed that Save America raised just $4,337 in May but spent $4.3 million, finishing the month with under $4.5 million cash left to spend. Legal bills accounted for 85 percent of May spending by the PAC, which also racked up $862,000 of unpaid legal bills."

...someone at these news orgs needs to explain why they're still taking Trump's word about finances when he's just been convicted of election fraud and real estate fraud, and hasn't owned up to ANY of it.