President-elect Donald Trump boasted that he would spend as much as $100 million of his own money on his campaign — but it turned out he didn’t come close to giving that much.
And judging by the results of the election, he didn’t need to.
According to new filings with the Federal Election Commission, Trump gave his campaign a large boost in the final period — running from October 20 through November 28 — with a $10 million contribution that put his total for the election at just over $66 million.
That’s well short of Trump’s $100 million promise. But it was still enough to beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, who filings show held a nearly 2-to-1 cash advantage over Trump. In the final filing period, Clinton outspent Trump by $131 million to $95 million. The vast majority of both campaign’s spending was on TV and online media.
The latest filing could also create some headaches for Trump as he prepares to take office amid scrutiny of his businesses and potential conflicts of interest. The report shows the Trump campaign paid $2.9 million on Trump-owned and branded businesses in the last period, reinforcing concerns that Trump won’t appropriately separate from his businesses as president.
In total, the Trump campaign raised over $86 million in the final filing period, compared to over $70 million for the Clinton campaign.
Despite carrying a $40 million advantage in cash on hand into the final stretch, Clinton emptied the kitchen sink — ending the campaign with just over $800,000 in campaign funds left, compared to over $7 million remaining in Trump’s war chest.