Former President Trump has a money problem. The polls may be moving in his direction, with the latest Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll showing the former president ahead of President Biden by 6 points in the swing states, but the fundraising contest is not going nearly as well.

Just before the deadline, the Trump campaign reported raising only $19 million in the final quarter of 2023, ending the year with $33 million in the bank. By comparison, the Biden team hauled in $33 million during the period and finished out 2023 with $46 million in its coffers.

Including fundraising by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Biden raised $97 million in the final three months of the year, ending 2023 with $117 million on hand — the most of any Democratic candidate ever at this point in the race. The fourth-quarter haul surpassed the $72 million and $71 million takes in the second and third quarters respectively. Including outside groups, Trump’s war chest at year end totaled roughly $70 million.

Because the GOP primary is ongoing, with Nikki Haley still in the race, the Republican National Committee is unable to raise money for Trump. That is just one reason that the former president would like Haley to drop out.

He also would like Haley to exit the race to give him greater access to her deep-pocketed supporters. As much as Trump’s camp has blasted Haley for being in the pocket of “the billionaire donor class,” the truth is that the former president, and anyone else running for the Oval Office, needs to raise a boatload of money from such “one........

© The Hill