Trump boasts more than $1.5 billion in political money. His spending tactics could shape the midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has bragged about building a political war chest exceeding $1.5 billion — a staggering sum he can use at will to shape the November midterm elections and the 2028 race to succeed him.

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Trump’s stockpile – which dwarfs any sums raised by his predecessors in their second terms – is not easy to calculate accurately since much of it is amassed by groups not required to file regular financial disclosures.

Current and former staffers, as well as others in Trump’s orbit, won’t say exactly where his political bank account stands six months after the president announced on social media that he had, since Election Day 2024, raised “in various political forms and entities, in excess of $1.5 billion.”

But what’s not in doubt is that he represents a mountain of cash that could reshape Republican politics for years to come — if he so chooses. He has been reluctant to spend money on other people’s races in the past, and has even found ways to funnel some of the money into his own business.

The $1.5 billion demanded by Trump is roughly equal to what he and outside groups spent on his successful 2024 re-election bid, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks political spending.

By comparison, Democratic President Joe Biden’s super PACs, political groups and nonprofits, as well as the Democratic National Committee, raised nearly $97 million during his first year in office, according to public disclosures. That’s only about 7% of Trump’s total, and Biden was preparing for a reelection run that Trump is not allowed to make.

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“I think a lot of people are asking, ‘What’s all this about?’” said Sourav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at the Nonprofit Campaign Law Center in Washington.

This is enough to shape the midterm elections and beyond

People close to Trump say the main benefit of all that money is the unparalleled impact heading into November. They insist that Trump is eager to help Republicans so that his policy agenda is not thwarted, as happened when Democratic victories derailed his first-term agenda after the 2018 midterm elections. His stock has helped the GOP build a significant cash advantage over Democrats heading into November, at least so far.

“One of the main reasons a president in recession might want to raise that much money is to maintain his political relevance,” said Daniel Weiner, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer and current director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “He was certainly more aggressive on this than any of his predecessors.”

Trump on Wednesday vowed political consequences for Republicans who oppose tariff policies, and he may spend big to hurt them in the GOP primaries. Among his targets is Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who opposed Trump’s tax and spending package and challenged the White House to help force the release of federal files on Jeffrey Epstein.

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Trump also endorsed primary opponent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Los Angeles, after he voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial over the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, it remains to be seen how much Trump will spend his money on congressional races.

“What surprised me a little bit is that Trump didn’t — at least publicly — leverage the money he controlled in that election on his agenda in Congress,” said Jason Rowe, a Republican strategist in Michigan.

In fact, Trump has a history of not spending heavily on races in which he is not running. In 2018, Trump’s super PACs spent less than $30 million, a pittance considering super PACs spent about $820 million that cycle, according to OpenSecrets.

He also doesn’t always follow through on his threats. Despite pledging to travel to Alaska to help defeat Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2022, Trump’s political action committee instead gave $1.5 million to a group opposing her. Murkowski was re-elected anyway.

The president has also not taken any major steps yet to oppose Indiana lawmakers who have refused to support new congressional maps backed by the White House.

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The Trump campaign’s bank account will also allow him to play a decisive role in the upcoming presidential race. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are front-runners, with Trump proposing to combine them on a GOP ticket that he says would be formidable.

“bribe box”

Much of Trump’s political money comes from MAGA Inc. super PAC, which raised more than $100 million in the last six months of 2025 and entered this year with more than $300 million. The Republican National Committee reported that it raised $172 million last year.

There are also a constellation of pro-Trump nonprofits, including Securing American Greatness, which are only required to disclose limited information about their finances. Donations to one of Trump’s entities can be funneled through various nonprofits and super PACs, making it difficult to track what’s being spent where.

“Because there are almost no restrictions on what super PAC money can be used for, it can essentially operate as a slush fund at the disposal of anyone who controls it,” Weiner said.

There are many ways Trump has used political money to enrich his businesses in the past, including charging his campaign for the use of his private plane. He could also organize political events at his properties in Florida or New Jersey, or at his golf club outside Washington.

Conservative groups and Republican committees have spent at least $26 million at Trump properties since 2015, and the actual number is likely higher because some groups do not have to provide detailed spending numbers.

Although federal rules govern the ways political donations can be spent, they can also be circumvented. In 2020, the Trump campaign paid tens of millions of dollars to limited liability companies controlled by aides, a move that met federal disclosure rules but concealed the ultimate recipient of the funds. In 2024, his political operation clawed back millions of dollars in donations it had made to super PACs supporting Trump’s candidacy and instead used the money to pay legal bills that had piled up following indictments in four federal criminal cases while he was also facing civil trials.

Read more: Elon Musk gave $20 million to a super PAC that compared Trump and Ginsburg on abortion

“As with so many other things, Donald Trump sometimes goes beyond what is permissible, and sometimes goes beyond very clear legal boundaries,” said Ghosh, of the Campaign Legal Center.

Who’s helping the Trump campaign’s bank account grow?

Trump’s fundraising efforts are tireless. The day after he won the 2024 election, he ordered staff to start fundraising again, and has since attended fundraisers frequently. His allies send emails asking for donations constantly, often several times a day.

“I’m sitting here alone. In the war room. Fighting for you,” Trump wrote in one such message last month. In another case, a Trump group tried to motivate donors to donate by asking: “Does Immigration and Customs Enforcement need to come and track you down?”

During his first presidential run, Trump relied heavily on small donations. But much of its operations now depend on large checks from wealthy donors and well-connected companies.

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Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI, and his wife, Anna, have donated $25 million to MAGA Inc. In the past year, Trump has consistently talked about helping ensure American companies dominate the field of artificial intelligence globally.

Other large donations came from crypto interests that led to federal investigations being dropped and Big Tobacco hoping to ease regulations.

The parents of Howard Brody, Trump’s ambassador to Finland, donated $500,000 to MAGA Inc., while Isabella Herrera donated $3.5 million before Trump pardoned her father, Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Vilotini, on bribery charges.

“Each of these wealthy individuals and corporations serves a purpose,” Ghosh said. “What we’re seeing with the Trump administration is just an unprecedented level of pay-for-play.”