Trump campaign insiders said they were cognisant of the problem and are finding creative ways to address it.
One insider suggested Mr Trump’s hallmark rallies could be scaled back to cut costs, while a meeting was recently organised between the former president, and Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and one of the world’s richest men.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s extraordinary ability to power his movement through small-dollar, grassroots donors appears to be waning.
Mr Trump has even begun to pay some of his legal bills from his own private fortune, according to some within his inner circle.
However, some conservative donors remain uninterested in bankrolling Mr Trump.
Eric Levine, a former Haley donor, said he would be focusing “all my attention on helping Republicans win back the Senate”.
Ken Griffin, who was the third-largest individual Republican donor in the 2020 presidential cycle, donated $5 million to support Mr Haley but has not given to Mr Trump.
Donor uncertainty
Mr Griffin has indicated he too will be focusing on the battle for control of Congress, rather than the White House race.
Four other significant donors to Ms Haley have ruled out donating to Mr Trump.
“I’m not going to write him a check for $50,000 when I don’t know where the hell it’s going – to lawyers or who knows what else,” one major California-based donor told Reuters, adding that other donors had said similar.
The cash crunch extends to the wider machinery of the Republican Party. The Republican National Committee (RNC) entered 2024 with nearly three-times less cash-on-hand than the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
However, with two Trump loyalists – including the former president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump – assuming leadership positions in the RNC on Friday, even the RNC’s coffers could in future be used to help cover Mr Trump’s legal costs.
