Trump has been frugal, yet leads over Biden. Now he’s going to dare

Donald Trump’s campaign is in a slight slump compared to that of his rival Joe Biden. Both have to focus on crucial states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia or Wisconsin in the coming weeks.

According to the latest Fox News poll, the situation is tied in Pennsylvania. Trump led Biden 49% to 47%, a margin of error. In Arizona, Trump won a five-way race against Biden and other independent candidates, winning 43% to Biden’s 39%.

Over the next month, the Trump campaign plans to open dozens of new offices in these key states and to hire hundreds of new employees, Fox News found. It was Trump’s absence in key states that was criticized by President Joe Biden.

Trump has recently been busy with his legal disputes and there are also several criminal proceedings against him, so the time spent on the road has been limited so far. Trump’s activity in the field is now expected to increase.

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra told The Associated Press this week that the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Trump’s campaign have not yet invested in building a campaign in the state, which will be crucial in November. “At this point we only have a skeleton,” Hoekstra said.

Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is already active in these key states, opening 100 new offices and hiring more than 350 new employees in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania alone in March.

However, the RNC and the Trump campaign have pushed back against the notion that they are behind schedule. “We don’t feel the need to talk about tactics, we’re focused on our candidate — he’s a winning candidate,” said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez. “We do all the tactics, we raise the money. We are deploying resources. All this is happening,” Alvarez assured.

But in reality, both the Trump campaign and the RNC may be struggling to finance a presidential campaign that is about to take a big turn. Earlier this year, it was revealed that in 2023 the RNC posted its worst fundraising record since 2013, receiving only $87.2 million and reporting roughly $8 million in free cash.

In January, Trump’s cash on hand was down to $30 million, while his expenses exceeded his income. Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign brought in $42 million over the same period and boasted a $130 million general election fund. By February, both the RNC and Trump’s campaign had already seen improvements, with Trump’s campaign raising over $20 million and his cash on hand increasing to $42 million.

Although fundraising might seem to have rebounded after Trump’s campaign merged with the committee, concerns about Trump’s financial situation remain. The former president has been ordered to make various payments in his criminal cases.

Trump is facing several criminal charges, and the civil lawsuit in New York in particular is making his life the most difficult. The former president had to pay a fine of 464 million dollars (almost 11 billion crowns) in this dispute by Monday. Trump appealed the verdict, and his lawyers asked the New York court to postpone the fine, because Trump does not have enough liquid money to pay it, and despite the efforts of his lawyers, it was not possible to find a company that would guarantee this amount for Trump. If Trump didn’t find a way to pay the money, the court could start confiscating his vast assets in New York City.

The court finally acceded to the request of Trump’s lawyers and reduced the amount to $174 million on the last possible day. According to information from the DailyMail, Trump must pay this amount within ten days. “I very much acknowledge the appeals court’s decision and within ten days I will deposit either $175 million in cash or bonds or surety or whatever is necessary,” Trump responded.

The RNC and campaign are pushing back against suggestions that the event in key states didn’t happen sooner because of the former president’s legal fees and poor fundraising. Both the Republican caucus and the Trump campaign are confident that the funds at their disposal will easily cover future costs. Republicans conceded that the Democrats’ cash advantage was expected, but argued that Trump did not need that much money to win.