Inside Trump world’s cash crunch

Presented by The American Petroleum Institute (API): The unofficial guide to official Washington.

Aug 01, 2023 View in browser   By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross We knew President Donald Trump was a money-raising machine. What we didn’t realize until last night’s Q2 PACs-and-parties filing deadline? That he’s been an even bigger money-spending machine | AP Listen to today's Daily Briefing DRIVING THE DAY PHEW — The U.S. women’s national soccer team squeaked through to the World Cup knockout round overnight after managing a 0-0 tie with lowly Portugal. Watch Portugal’s late near-miss NEW NYT/SIENA POLL — President JOE BIDEN and DONALD TRUMP are tied at 43 percent apiece in a new national poll published this morning “President Biden is heading into the 2024 presidential contest on firmer footing than a year ago, with his approval rating inching upward and once-doubtful Democrats falling into line behind his re-election bid,” NYT’s Reid J. Epstein, Ruth Igielnik and Camille Bake write. “Still, warning signs abound for the president: Despite his improved standing and a friendlier national environment, Mr. Biden remains broadly unpopular among a voting public that is pessimistic about the country’s future, and his approval rating is a mere 39 percent.” TRUMP’S MONEY WOES — We knew Trump was a money-raising machine. What we didn’t realize until last night’s Q2 PACs-and-parties filing deadline? That he’s been an even bigger money-spending machine — raising questions about whether his financial woes have spilled out of the hotel business and into the political arena. Trump-affiliated committees have spent more than they’ve raised so far this year, filings indicate — a staggering burn rate given that Trump’s joint fundraising committee reported raising $53.8 million in the first half of the year. But as our colleagues Jessica Piper and Zach Montellaro report this morning, “his committee and its two affiliates — the former president’s official campaign and his leadership Save America PAC — have collectively spent $57 million over the same period.” Another super PAC supporting Trump, Make America Great Again Inc., raised $14.6 million over half of the year but spent $25.6 million. That foreshadows a long-term issue that could bedevil Trump as the election cycle plays out. Sure, he might well be able to stampede his way through the primary, given that he’s leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the pack. But a general election is going to need every penny in a rematch with President Joe Biden. SO WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING? You probably guessed: Much is heading to cover legal bills. The NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan put it fairly bluntly in this buzzy headline that popped overnight: “After Paying Lawyers, Trump’s PAC Is Nearly Broke.” The lead is just as eye-popping: “Trump’s political action committee, which began last year with $105 million, now has less than $4 million left in its account after paying tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for Mr. Trump and his associates.” Indeed, Trump’s main super PAC, Save America, was so strapped for cash that it requested to recoup $60 million it had previously donated to MAGA Inc. for TV ads supporting his White House bid, the story continues: “The extraordinary shift of money from the super PAC to Mr. Trump’s political committee … is believed to be larger than any other refund on record in the history of federal campaigns.” California GOP consultant Rob Pyers flags an even more troubling trend for Trump: His greatest fundraising asset — the ongoing state and federal prosecutions targeting him — may be losing potency. Just look at this chart showing the differences between what the former president raised off of his first indictment over the STORMY DANIELS hush money scheme and the haul following the federal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents in June. The latter appears to be less than a third of the former. MEANWHILE IN DeSANTIS WORLD: Filings for Never Back Down, the main RON DeSANTIS super PAC, highlight the extent to which a handful of wealthy donors is almost single-handedly fueling the Florida governor’s war chest. As Piper and our colleague Sally Goldenberg report this morning, those includes Nevada hotel magnate ROBERT BIGELOW, real estate developer JAY ODOM, Sequoia Capital’s DOUGLAS LEONE, Standard Industries CEO DAVID MILLSTONE, and power couple ELIZABETH and RICHARD UIHLEIN. All told, Never Back Down has almost $100 million on hand, a significant sum demonstrating that despite flagging poll numbers, DeSantis is well positioned to stay in the race for the long haul. As for what that money is buying, WaPo’s Michael Scherer and Maeve Reston have an early look at NBD’s spending, which included has “building a staff of 121 people and a contract workforce of about 240 canvassers, who work out of 11 offices across the country.” All told, NBD reports 85 percent of its spending is on “direct voter contact,” which included the canvassing as well as mail, digital and TV advertising. The upshot? Between DeSantis’ cash-strapped campaign and his cash-rich super PAC, “his operation will largely be powered by what is in essence a shadow campaign that cannot legally coordinate with the candidate,” as Jessica and Sally write. BOBBY’S BIG BACKER: Elsewhere, the super PAC supporting ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. disclosed yesterday that a single Republican donor was responsible for half of the nearly $10 million it has raised, Jessica writes. “Of the $9.8 million reported, $5 million came from TIMOTHY MELLON, a longtime GOP donor who gave $1.5 million to a Trump-aligned group last fall, according to campaign finance records. In a press release earlier Monday, Mellon touted Kennedy’s bipartisan credentials, calling him ‘the one Democrat who can win in the general election.’” ONLINE FUNDRAISING SCOREBOARD: Yesterday’s filings also included itemized reports from the biggest online fundraising platforms, offering a handy glimpse at which campaigns and committees have been most effective at sucking up small-dollar donations. (h/t to Pyers, whose Twitter account is essential reading on deadline days) ActBlue … 1. DCCC ($14.7M) … 2. DSCC ($13M) … 3. DNC ($10.9M) … 4. Biden 2024 ($8.6M) … 5. ADAM SCHIFF ($8.5M) … 6. JON TESTER ($7.3M) … 7. KATIE PORTER ($6.4M) … 8. COLIN ALLRED ($5.8M) … 9. RUBEN GALLEGO ($5.7M) … 10. Biden joint fundraising committee ($5.1M) WinRed … 1. Trump joint fundraising committee ($45.9M) … 2. NRSC ($16.2M) … 3. RNC ($8.5M) … 4. NRCC ($7.6M) … 5. KEVIN McCARTHY ($5.5M) … 6. TIM SCOTT ($5.3M) … 7. STEVE SCALISE ($4M) … 8. McCarthy joint fundraising committee ($3.4M) … 9. VIVEK RAMASWAMY ($2.6M) … 10. NIKKI HALEY ($2.4M) Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and let us know what you’ve spotted in yesterday’s data dump: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.   A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Washington's Mixed Messaging on Energy: Energy Secretary Granholm has urged more American oil and natural gas production. Yet Interior Secretary Haaland is more than a year overdue in finalizing a five-year program for offshore oil and natural gas leasing. The Biden administration has prioritized announcing wind energy projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and we urge President Biden to place equal priority on finalizing a new five-year plan to bolster America’s economy and security.   ALABAMA SLAMMER — President Biden's decision yesterday to cancel a planned move of Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama sparked more than a little intrigue and infighting — coming as it did amid an increasingly nasty tiff between Biden and Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.) over his abortion-related blockade of military promotions. Point … “In an interview on Monday evening, [Sen. JOHN] HICKENLOOPER [D-Colo.] said that Tuberville’s holds on military promotions, while ‘very frustrating,’ did not affect the decision-making process at all. … ‘In my opinion, I believe that’s how the Defense Department looked at it. And I think that’s how the White House looked at it.’” Counterpoint … Rep. TERRI SEWELL (D-Ala.): “The Administration’s decision to keep Space Command in Colorado bows to the whims of politics over merit. … This reversal is as shameful as it is disappointing.” DAILY DeSANTIS DEMEANOR DISPATCH — “Beer, barbecue and a bus: Inside Ron DeSantis’ awkward comeback effort,” by NBC’s Jonathan Allen, Henry Gomez, Allan Smith and Emma Barnett: “A 15-year-old at the Oskaloosa coffee shop asked about military service restrictions on people with mental health disorders — a topic right in line with the DeSantis campaign’s desire to highlight his military expertise. ‘I can’t legally vote,’ the teen said, ‘but I struggle with major depressive disorder.’ DeSantis interrupted the teen with a rejoinder: ‘It’s never stopped the other party from not letting you vote.’ … “Later [Thursday] evening, in Osceola, an 82-year-old farmer told DeSantis that he tends fewer acres since his wife died of cancer five years ago, and asked about the candidate’s thoughts on ethanol, a corn-based renewable fuel used in cars. DeSantis passed up an opportunity to offer sympathy, launching into a stump-speech promise to ‘turn back this rush to electric vehicles.’” Related: Former DeSantis pollster WHIT AYRES tells PBS NewsHour that the Florida gov “has a hard time working with people. He will have absolutely nothing to do with anyone associated with a hard-fought, successful race in 2018. That's a little unusual.” (via Geoff Bennett)   A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): What About Energy: Natural gas and oil produced in America comes cleaner and safer than elsewhere in the world. That’s why America needs a congressionally mandated five-year offshore leasing program and consistent onshore lease sales to develop the energy the world needs. Implementing supportive policies could help increase the reliable energy supplies that the Biden Administration seeks.   BIDEN’S TUESDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule. VP KAMALA HARRIS’ TUESDAY: 10:30 a.m.: The VP will depart D.C. en route to Orlando, Fla. 2:15 p.m.: Harris will deliver remarks at the 20th Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Quadrennial Convention. 3:25 p.m.: Harris will depart Orlando to return to D.C. THE HOUSE and THE SENATE are out.   STOP SCROLLING (for just a minute!). Introducing a revamped California Playbook newsletter with an all-new team and a sharpened mission! Join Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner as they take you on an extraordinary journey through California's political landscape. From inside the Capitol in Sacramento to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles, and from the tech hub of Silicon Valley to even further beyond, we're your front-row ticket to the action. Subscribe for access to exclusive news, buzzworthy scoops and never-before-revealed behind-the-scenes details straight from the heart of California's political arena. Don't miss out — SUBSCRIBE TODAY and stay in the know!     PHOTO OF THE DAY Carlos De Oliveira, personal aide to former President Donald Trump, arrives at the James L. King Federal Courthouse in Miami, Fla. on July 31, 2023. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images PLAYBOOK READS 2024 WATCH CENTER STAGING — No Labels, the centrist group that has teased a “unity ticket” for 2024, has targeted Republican donors disaffected with Trump, pitching its gambit as a way to beat the former president without funding an entity assisting Biden, our colleague Shia Kapos reports. “It could have profound political ripple effects, complicating both the current Republican primary and future general election by siphoning funds away from candidates and entities challenging Trump to a ticket that does not yet exist.” The pitch: Some Republicans say No Labels insists that donations to it are “a good way to keep Trump out and not have to donate to Biden,” according to a person representing a corporate CEO who was approached by the group and is receptive to the message of bipartisanship — but skeptical of the organization’s aims to mount a third-party bid. MEMELORD-IN-CHIEF — “‘This belongs in the Smithsonian’: Inside the meme video operation that swallowed Ron DeSantis’ campaign,” by Semafor’s Dave Weigel and Shelby Talcott: “The chat in Signal, an encrypted messaging app, offers the first clear look into the ‘war room’ that has defined the Florida governor’s candidacy, and is presided over by his high-profile and confrontational director of rapid response, CHRISTINA PUSHAW. … “Screenshots of the ‘War Room’ chat reviewed by Semafor included staffers praising a widely-derided and since-deleted video — originally posted on an anonymous account, ‘Ron DeSantis Fancams’ — that included a version of the Sonnenrad, a symbol associated with Nazi Germany.” SBA VS. DeSANTIS — The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the country’s leading anti-abortion organizations, criticized DeSantis for failing to back a national abortion ban, writes AP’s Sara Burnett. “Gov. DeSantis’s dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. … There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most,” SBA President MARJORIE DANNENFELSER said. In a recent interview, DeSantis “noted he signed legislation in Florida to ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy but suggested that individual states should decide the issue. He said he is ‘pro-life’ but added that he is ‘running on doing things that I know I can accomplish,’” Burnett writes. The criticism signals problems for DeSantis on the abortion issue. His decision to champion the six-week ban in Florida could alienate swing voters and suburban moms. But criticism from one of the nation’s top anti-abortion rights groups puts him in a bit of a no-man’s land on the issue. Related reads: “DeSantis supports Tuberville’s block on military promotions, blames Pentagon,” by Kelly Garrity … “DeSantis Says He Will Weigh U.S. Ban of TikTok if Elected President,” by WSJ’s Alex Leary MORE POLITICS DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK (YET) — Inside Elections’ @JacobRubashkin: “Some potential CA-31 news: former Rep. GIL CISNEROS, who is a potential candidate to replace retiring Rep. GRACE NAPOLITANO, is leaving his job at the Department of Defense.” THE WHITE HOUSE ALL IN THE FAMILY — A former business partner of HUNTER BIDEN testified yesterday that President Biden spoke to his son’s international business associates several times, NYT’s Luke Broadwater reports. The partner, DEVON ARCHER, told Congress that the president was not privy to any of his son’s business dealings, however, and that the younger Biden was merely trying to sell the illusion of access to his father. “Republicans pointed to the interview as evidence that President Biden had lied when he claimed he had no involvement in his son’s business dealings, and some said that was grounds for impeaching the elder Mr. Biden. … But Democrats said that Mr. Archer had described the conversations in which the elder Mr. Biden participated as short and casual — about topics like the weather — and his interactions as little more than stopping by a dinner or a hotel for a brief handshake or a few pleasantries over the phone.” WHO’S AT DEFAULT — Progressives were thrilled when Biden said this past spring that he would explore new ways to kill off the debt ceiling for good. But now there’s growing concern that they’re getting the ultimate Beltway brush-off: an internal working group. “Two months after narrowly averting economic disaster, the White House is assembling a team dedicated to heading off yet another debt crisis come 2025,” Jennifer Haberkorn and Adam Cancryn report. “But there’s reason to be skeptical that concrete action will come soon, if at all. There’s no clear timeline for the project and little in the way of overt direction, outside of analyzing various theories for defusing the debt ceiling.”   A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Washington wants companies to ramp up oil production. Administration actions only add barriers.   CONGRESS NIGHT OF THE HUNTER — A trio of GOP committee chairs is “investigating the circumstances of the plea agreement that the Justice Department reached with Hunter Biden before it unraveled in court last week,” NBC’s Rebecca Shabad and Rebecca Kaplan report. In a letter to AG MERRICK GARLAND, Judiciary’s JIM JORDAN, Oversight’s JAMES COMER and Ways and Means’ JASON SMITH “highlighted a provision in the pretrial diversion agreement that would have put the onus on the judge overseeing the case to determine over a 24-month period if the president's son violated the terms of the plea deal.” Read the letter FOR YOUR RADAR — Rep. RONNY JACKSON (R-Texas) was “‘briefly detained’ by law enforcement while trying to help with a medical emergency at a rodeo Saturday night outside Amarillo,” The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek writes. “A spokesperson for the representative said in a statement that Jackson was detained amid a ‘very loud and chaotic environment’ and was released as soon as law enforcement realized he was trying to help.” KNOWING NADINE MENENDEZ — “A Senator’s New Wife and Her Old Friends Draw Prosecutors’ Attention,” by NYT’s Tracey Tully: Sen. BOB MENENDEZ, “the 69-year-old Democratic chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, is under investigation by the Justice Department for the second time in less than a decade. And this time, his wife is also in prosecutors’ cross hairs.” TRUMP CARDS COUP-DE-CLICKER — The investigations of Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election results introduced an extensive cast of allies, enablers, detractors and victims who may soon figure into the looming charges against the former president. Our colleague Kyle Cheney is up with a look at the central figures, whose names may return to the forefront when special counsel JACK SMITH or Fulton County DA FANI WILLIS issue their anticipated charges — potentially as soon as this week. FOR YOUR RADAR — “Trump receives deposition notice in his $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen,” by NBC’s Adam Reiss and Zoë Richards AMERICA AND THE WORLD LET’S GET REALPOLITIK — “Biden administration unwilling to call Niger coup a ‘coup,’” by Nahal Toosi and Lara Seligman: “[D]oing so could trigger an end to U.S. security aid to a country that’s key to battling terrorism and curbing Russian influence in Africa. The reluctance is the latest example of President Joe Biden’s struggle to balance a stated reverence for democracy with the harsh reality of geopolitics, especially when it comes to partner nations tackling challenges such as extremism.” THE ECONOMY FOR YOUR RADAR — “Banks warn of lending pullback, fueling recession fears,” by Sam Sutton BEYOND THE BELTWAY HEADS UP — “Jury to Weigh Death Penalty in Pittsburgh Synagogue Mass Shooting,” by WSJ’s Kris Maher   HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.     PLAYBOOKERS Katie Britt is recovering at home after being hospitalized for numbness in her face over the weekend. Adam Schiff wants to put Leonard Nimoy on a stamp.  POLITICO MOVES — Blanca Begert is joining POLITICO as the inaugural California climate reporter and will author the new California Climate newsletter. She previously was a fellow at Grist. The announcement — Chelsea Cirruzzo is joining POLITICO and will co-author the Pulse newsletter along with Ben Leonard. Cirruzzo comes to us from Axios, where she launched and co-authored its D.C. newsletter, and Leonard previously covered health technology at POLITICO. Daniel Payne will now cover doctors and hospitals on POLITICO’s health care team. He previously co-authored Pulse with a part-time focus on health care providers. TRANSITIONS — Lynne Weil is launching Citrus Strategies, a comms and fractional marketing consultancy. She previously was director of external affairs at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. … Natasha del Amo is now associate VP of paid media at Precision, where she will join the leadership of the paid media team. She previously was an associate VP at Fenton Communications. … … Matt Williams is now an SVP on the comms team at Precision. He was most recently staff director for the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and is a Debbie Stabenow alum. … Nikki Hall White is now a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer. She previously was director of regulatory strategy and services at Pepco Holdings. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.) … Howard Kurtz (7-0) … Ed Gillespie of AT&T … Mikayla DeMasi … POLITICO’s Chris Buddie, Lara Korte, Jackie Ramsay and Hannah Northey … CSIS’ Andrew Schwartz … CEI’s Travis Burk … Clare Foran … Josie Duckett McSpadden of the Gates Foundation … Karen Marangi … Drew Littman of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck … Roy Loewenstein … U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg … Sheila Katz … Dana Zureikat Daoud of the Jordanian Embassy … Edelman’s Jordan Lubowitz … Benji Englander … Macaulay Porter of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office … Christina Gungoll Lepore of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s D.C. office … Scott Evertz … Hayden Center’s Larry Pfeiffer … former Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), Van Taylor (R-Texas) and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) … former Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.) … Dan Shapiro of the Atlantic Council … Graeme Trayner of FGS Global … Martin Hamburger … Cappy McGarr Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Sunday’s Playbook misspelled the name of Seema Mehta.   A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API): Making American Energy: Democrats, Republicans and Independents support producing oil and natural gas in America versus relying on unstable regions around the world. U.S. producers increased production in 2022 at a greater rate than the rest of the world, but global demand for oil and natural gas is reaching new heights, and more is needed. Energy Secretary Granholm has called for more American oil and natural gas production. So, it’s curious then that Administration restrictions mount for companies working to produce energy cleaner, safer and better in America. A year's delay in finalizing leasing plans for offshore energy. New restrictions and only a single round of onshore lease sales this year. Protracted timelines for project permits and overlapping federal guidelines. Let’s make American energy the priority that it needs to be to deliver an affordable, reliable and cleaner energy future.     Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.