President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was willing to spend his own money to run his reelection campaign but that it would likely not be necessary.
Trump spoke to reporters who asked him, prior to a trip to Florida on Tuesday afternoon, if he would spend his own money to fund the campaign,
“Yeah, if I have to I would, but we’re doing very well,” Trump replied.
He commented after a New York Times story detailed massive amounts of money spent earlier in the campaign.
Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee has raised $1.1 billion, the Times reported, but has already spent more than $800 million of it.
Much of the scrutiny for the spending fell on former Campaign Manager Brad Parscale, who was replaced by Bill Stepien in July. Parscale defended his spending in a statement to the Times.
“I ran the campaign the same way I did in 2016, which also included all of the marketing, strategy, and expenses under the very close eye of the family,” Parscale said. “No decision was made without their approval.”
Trump defended the spending as necessary, citing the “disinformation campaigns” waged by the Democrats and the left during the coronavirus pandemic earlier in the year.
“We needed to spend more money upfront because of the pandemic and the statements being made by Democrats which were disinformation,” he said.
Trump said that the administration had done a great job fighting the virus, producing ventilators, and developing coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics.
“The press was fake and we have to spend a lot of money,” Trump said.
The president said the campaign had “much more money” than they did in 2016 and would spend his own money if needed.
“Whatever it takes, we have to win,” he said. “This is the most important election in the history of our country.”