Donald Trump’s presidential campaign spent more on hats, t-shirts and mugs than on ads or payroll last month.
Trump’s campaign spent $208,000 on hats, $5,000 on signs and $694,000 on t-shirts, mugs and stickers in June, according to a financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission. Those “Make America Great” clothes and posters have been Trump’s primary form of paid advertising.
By contrast, the Trump campaign spent just $115,000 on online advertising and $5,000 on print ads.
The filing also showed that Hillary Clinton has a commanding fundraising lead over Trump, impacting the amount of money the campaigns can spend on advertising. Clinton’s campaign had $42 million in the bank as of May 31. Trump’s campaign had $1.3 million.
Clinton’s campaign plans to spend $117 million in television advertising prior to Election Day. Meanwhile, Trump and his supporters have committed to $700,000.
Campaign advertising is a critical tool that campaigns use to persuade voters in crucial swing states.
Trump’s campaign spent just $6.7 million last quarter, less than half the $14.1 million Clinton’s campaign spent.
Airfare was the campaign’s single biggest expense, totaling nearly $1 million. Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. alone billed $13,000 in flights to the campaign.
The Trump campaign spent a relatively low $347,000 on payroll last month. That number is a bit skewed, however, since it outsourced much of the work. The campaign paid outside consultants $1.5 million last month for services that included administration, “ballot access consulting” to legal issues, strategic and policy planning, communications and event consulting.
The largest consulting fee the Trump campaign paid was the $543,000 it gave an outside group to develop its website’s digital strategy.
Hotels were also a major expense for Trump’s campaign. It spent about $250,000 in lodging last month.
The campaign also spent $75,000 on security, $228,000 in postage, $900 in cleaning services and $264 on pens.
Clinton’s campaign did not break out its spending last month.