President Donald Trump has raised $207.5 million since Election Day while seeking to overturn the results, according to a new report, while actually spending just a small fraction of that on efforts to challenge the vote count in key states.
The president seemingly broke an unusual record for post-election campaign fundraising in the days since his defeat, failing to concede to President-elect Joe Biden despite his own Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security discrediting his allegations of widespread voter fraud.
He raised the staggering sum of money from his supporters, who donated to the Republican National Committee and organizations like the Trump Victory Fund, as he promised a slew of legal battles in states he lost to Mr Biden, who won the White House with more than 80 million votes.
But according to the Washington Post, his campaign has only spent $8.8 million on the resulting legal efforts, as well as a recount in Wisconsin — which ended up providing more votes to Mr Biden.
The recount was the campaign’s most costly expense at $3 million, while other funds went to Mr Trump’s legal advisers like Jenna Ellis, who has reportedly taken in $30,000 since Election Day.
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'The money for the campaigns will be record-breaking … So will the money spent to safeguard the election'
In reality, the hundreds of millions of dollars that went to the Trump campaign in the days since the election have been used to pay off debts and help form a new political action committee.
Donations have poured into the Trump campaign while the president continued promoting misinformation, debunked conspiracy theories and outright lies surrounding the 2020 election. Mr Trump’s false claims about his electoral defeat began long before votes could even be counted, when he falsely claimed he could only lose if the election was rigged against him.
Meanwhile, the president has refused to indicate whether he will attend Mr Biden’s inauguration, instead saying he has a plan that he will announce leading up to the historic event.
Some reports have indicated Mr Trump was planning a 2024 run for the White House, while others said he was in the midst of readying a slate of presidential pardons for his close advisers and family members. Other reports indicate he may launch a streaming network to rival the likes of Fox News and OANN.
Mr Trump has not publicly disclosed what his plans are after he leaves the White House come January.
