President Biden's campaign entered March with $71 million cash on hand, increasing his fundraising advantage — which is over twice what former president Donald Trump has.
The Trump campaign had over $33.5 million cash on hand to start the month, adding only about $3.5 million to its coffers as the campaign was forced to spend large sums on advertising, travel and campaign events to fend off Nikki Haley going into the March 5 Super Tuesday contests.
Trump's legal bills continue to mount as well, with his campaign and the super PACs supporting him spending over $10 million in 2024 alone on legal fees.
Save America PAC, the political action committee paying for most of Trump's legal defenses, spent over $5.5 million in February alone on legal bills, and so far this year, it has spent more than $8.5 million. The group carried about another $500,000 of debt owed to attorneys for Trump into March.
Trump's campaign also spent over $1.7 million on legal fees in the first two months of the year.
Last year, Save America PAC and Make America Great Again PAC, the two political action committees paying for Trump's legal defenses, spent nearly $50 million on legal bills.
Mr. Biden's campaign reveals a combined total of $155 million in funds alongside the Democratic National Committee and affiliated joint fundraising committees as of March. CBS News has yet to verify this amount due to the quarterly filing schedule of joint fundraising committees.
An amount exceeding $2.5 million from the Biden committee's campaign finances was allocated to "DNC Travel Escrow" - a specialized account designated for collecting travel expenses to later reimburse the U.S. Treasury for government-related trips taken on official transportation modes, as reported by the Associated Press.
According to the AP, traveling on Marine One helicopters with Mr. Biden accrues costs ranging from $16,700 to $20,000 per hour, while Air Force One expenses amount to about $200,000 per flying hour. These figures exclude the expenses related to military cargo planes transporting his armored vehicles and other equipment.
The timing of the payments to the escrow account coincides with Mr. Biden's visits to Nevada, Florida, and New York for various campaign activities and fundraising initiatives.
The Biden campaign's spending focused on media buys and payroll expenses, with $1.6 million allocated to media production and 141 staffers receiving payroll payments. Plans are in place to add 100 field staffers to the campaign in March and launch a $30 million ad buy over six weeks.
On the other hand, the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and supporting political action committees began the month with over $74 million in cash reserves.
MAGA Inc., the primary super PAC backing Trump, started March with over $25.5 million in cash after receiving $12.7 million from wealthy donors in February.
Despite recent mass layoffs and leadership changes, the RNC managed to increase its cash reserves by $2.6 million last month, surpassing $11.3 million by the end of the period.
Biden and his campaign have been highlighting Trump's financial challenges, emphasizing their advantage in staffing and travel preparations.
"Just the other day, a guy came to me and said, Mr. President, I need your help. I'm being crushed with debt; I'm completely wiped out. I had to say, 'Donald, I can't help you,'" Mr. Biden joked at a Dallas fundraiser on Wednesday.
