Trump is sitting on a $400 million war chest ahead of the midterms. But how will he spend it?
With just two months to go before the midterm elections, President Trump is sitting on a $400 million war chest, according to Federal Election Commission filings, and fellow Republicans are wondering how he's going to start spending all that money.
This week, Securing American Greatness, a nonprofit with ties to Mr. Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., unveiled its first ad to air nationwide.
But the ad is focused on Mr. Trump instead of local congressional candidates.
And while the money has yet to flow out to candidates, the president says it will.
"I've raised a lot, and nobody knows what it is, but I will tell you it's about $850 million," Mr. Trump said before boarding Air Force One to fly to South Carolina on Aug. 21. "I'll be spending a lot of that money for — and my own money — but I'll be spending a lot of that money for candidates that I think are good, Republican candidates."
The president and his team cite recent political history — if he tells his base to show up, they do. So, he's trying to convince them to pretend he's on the ballot.
"Pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot," the president said Aug. 21 at a rally for Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina. "Come and vote. It's so important."
The only meaningful donation from MAGA Inc. so far was a $827,000 payment to Graham's campaign. Until Graham's Senate bid, MAGA Inc. had spent only about $18,000 in 2026 on a midterm race. The super PAC spent about $1.7 million last year, and by the end of the second quarter, it had raised $401 million.
The focus on Mr. Trump continues next week in Dallas when the GOP is set to gather for a presidential-style midterm convention at a sports arena with dozens of speeches — and even a balloon drop.
It's designed to showcase some of the party's rising stars. But CBS News has learned some Republican candidates in competitive congressional contests are not attending.
"I have to be campaigning. No one votes for me in Washington or in Dallas. I have to be in Miami," Florida Republican Rep. Maria Salazar recently told reporters outside the Capitol.
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he's not concerned if Republicans would rather campaign in their districts.
"Most importantly, you've got to go out there and meet voters and message to voters," Vance said.
