Cash crash. U.S. President Joe Biden’s widely-panned debate performance against Donald Trump on Thursday poses not only a political threat to his campaign, but potentially a financial one, too. Trump has already eclipsed Biden’s cash on hand, and the current president has lagged the former one in recent fundraising monthly totals. His disadvantage will only grow worse if it’s clear to his richest donors, who often spread money around, that they will be betting on a losing horse.

Earlier this year, Biden was outpacing Trump’s lackluster fundraising operations. Trump was tied up with legal troubles, and Biden’s seasoned operatives were humming along doing what campaigns do — raising money and opening field offices in battleground states. The tide started to turn in the spring, with Trump outraising Biden by $25 million in April. Then, Trump’s conviction on May 30 on 34 counts of falsifying business records flooded his coffers, and left Biden badly behind.

Trump’s joint fundraising operation with the Republican National Committee bested Biden’s by $141 million to $85 million in May, with a huge proportion coming in the final two days of the month, according to the Trump campaign. The former president has around $117 million in cash on hand, compared to around $84 million for the Biden campaign, as of the end of May.

Biden's camp pointed to strong fundraising numbers following the debate — and indeed, major televised events are always a cash cow for candidates because small donors are paying attention. Money coming from the masses matters, too: donations of less than $200 have made up 42% of Biden's haul so far, compared to 31% of Trump's.

But deep-pocketed contributors create momentum, by both their sheer dollar payouts and the events that they hold. They have less incentive to keep giving money to a candidate they feel is a lost cause. A steep cash differential between Biden and Trump in June would be another sign to Democrats that Biden’s candidacy is in crisis.

Would-be Biden donors may start to think twice

Earlier this year, Biden was outpacing Trump’s lackluster fundraising operations.

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