Despite Weak Poll Numbers, Trump Holds Record-High Campaign War Chest

[The Financial News] With November’s midterm elections approaching, U.S. President Donald Trump is facing talk of a political crisis amid falling approval ratings and growing discontent within his own party. However, new claims have emerged that he is sitting on the largest pile of political money ever amassed by a single politician. If the Trump camp pours this money into the coming campaign, it could deliver results that exceed expectations.
Politico reported on the 1st (local time) that it had analyzed year-end political funding reports filed the previous day by Trump and related political groups with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Trump’s own campaign committee held 26 million dollars, while political action committees (PACs) supporting him controlled 8 million dollars. Super Political Action Committees (Super PACs) linked to Trump were estimated to have about 300 million dollars. Politico noted that, in total, Trump and Trump-related organizations reported 375 million dollars (about 544.5 billion won) in election funds, more than any other politician in U.S. history.
Politico pointed out that this amount is roughly four times the 95 million dollars held by the Republican National Committee (RNC), arguing that Trump has effectively become a political force independent of the party organization. By contrast, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had only 14 million dollars in cash and was 17 million dollars in debt.
On the same day, The New York Times (NYT) also reported that the "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" Super PAC run by Trump’s close associates held 304 million dollars in cash, giving Trump a major advantage over the Democrats.
The Make America Great Again (MAGA) Super PAC raised 112 million dollars in just the second half of last year, as Trump personally pushed fundraising efforts and donors seeking business favors or presidential pardons flocked to contribute. NYT analyzed that Trump can use this money to support Republican candidates he favors or to go on the offensive against Democratic candidates. It added that Trump’s sheer financial firepower itself could serve as a warning message to anti-Trump factions within the Republican Party.
Meanwhile, on January 27, U.S. political outlet The Hill, citing polling conducted by British weekly The Economist and others, reported that as of the fourth weekend of last month, only 27% of independent voters in the United States approved of Trump. This was the lowest level since the start of his second administration.

pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter