Donald Trump’s push to revamp his presidential campaign got off to a rocky start with dismal fundraising numbers, and he looked to rebound Wednesday by meeting with religious conservatives in New York, and sharpening his attacks on Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Trump brushed off the latest campaign finance reports showing him with less than $2 million in the bank compared to Mrs. Clinton’s $42 million. He blamed GOP leaders for not helping him out more, and vowed to tap into his own bank account to spend what it takes to win the White House.
He also announced plans for a speech Wednesday in New York designed to reset the campaign narrative, amid a shakeup that saw him oust his campaign manager and try to quell concerns that he’s not up to running a national contest.
In a preview of his upcoming attacks, Mr. Trump’s campaign fired off 10 emails in the course of a few hours Tuesday blasting Mrs. Clinton’s economic plans, accusing her of betraying American workers and taking money — in the form of donations to her family’s charitable foundation — from foreign governments with a record of human rights abuses.
Mr. Trump also announced Tuesday he would be launching a LyingCrookedHillary.com website to “showcase some of Clinton’s most disastrous lies to the American people.”
Six weeks after he sewed up the nomination, the billionaire businessman finds himself grappling with a rebellion within the GOP, where some activists are still trying to oust him as their pick.
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Others are resigned to him as the nominee, but have been reluctant to aid him, saying he’s too unpredictable and brash to lead their party. They also question whether he understands what it takes to win a national campaign against Mrs. Clinton, who has built a massive operation and reliable fundraising network that helped fuel a multimillion dollar ad campaign in battleground states last week.
On Monday, Mr. Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and filed paperwork showing he raised just $3 million in May, and had just $1.3 million in the bank at the end of the month. Mrs. Clinton raised $26 million and had more than $42 million in cash on hand.
Mr. Trump said the numbers don’t faze him.
“If need be, there could be unlimited ’cash on hand’ as I would put up my own money, as I have already done through the primaries, spending over $50 million,” he said in a statement, alluding to the $43 million he lent his campaign. “Our campaign is leaner and more efficient, like our government should be.”
In addition to the campaign woes, Mr. Trump is still trying to woo wary conservatives.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump rolled out a new “evangelical executive advisory board” that included former U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota; James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University; and Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
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He also met with about 1,000 Christian leaders in New York on Tuesday, winning standing ovations as he entered and left the room.
Mr. Trump promised the leaders that he will appoint pro-life justices on the Supreme Court and said he’ll work to preserve tax exemptions for churches and pastors.
“I think the people weren’t just satisfied with his answers, but will be excited to go to the polls with him in November,” said Terry Schilling, executive director of the American Principles Project, who attended the event.
Others in the audience said they left with some unanswered concerns.
“It was disappointing that the campaign weeded out several pre-submitted questions about abortion, the pain-capable bill in Congress, and defunding Planned Parenthood,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.
A Qunnipiac University Poll released Tuesday showed the race remaining tight, with Mr. Trump locked in a close battle with Mrs. Clinton in Ohio and Pennsylvania. But she has opened up an 8 percentage point lead in Florida.
Mr. Trump attributed his lackluster fundraising to the reluctance of GOP leaders to rally behind him.
“They don’t want to come on,” he said on NBC’s “Today” show. “They will probably eventually come on. Honestly, if they don’t, it’s just fine. I can win it either way. I mean, I may be better off winning it the opposite way than the more traditional way.”
Republican strategist Sean Noble said Mr. Trump might have made things harder for himself once again by vowing to cut himself a “unlimited” check for the general election effort could backfire.
“The moment he has said it is unlimited, his fundraising is going to dry up,” Mr. Noble said. “The vast majority of donors to a political campaign don’t have as much money as he does, so their natural inclination is going to be ’if he wants this so bad, he can pony up the money himself.’”
“So I think that was miscalculation on his part,” Mr. Noble said.
But Mark Weaver, another GOP strategist, said winning over Republican donors is about more than just money. “Donald Trump can cover the deficit by writing a check, but he won’t be able to get as many people involved as investors that build energy around his campaign,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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