Trump spent $1.2 million on swag, $268k on hats alone

Donald Trump's presidential campaign did not spend much in May. But a good chunk of what it did spend went to the Trump family and entities owned by Trump himself.

The presumptive Republican nominee's campaign committee received only $5.6 million (A$7.5m) in May, including another loan from Trump, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

It reported disbursements of $6.7 million (A$8.9m), ending the month with only $1.3 million (A$1.74m) on hand.

In a statement, the Trump camp explained that low figure as the consequence of only really beginning its fundraising efforts at the end of May, and actually described its results thus far as "incredible."

Importantly, Trump does not spend as heavily as candidates typically do, aided by a heavy dose of free media coverage. A significant portion of the campaign's May disbursements, though, went to Trump properties.

About 20 percent of May spending went to Trump companies or reimbursements for his children. That includes a roughly $423,000 (A$566,000) payment to the Trump Organisation's Mar-a-Lago club.

Trump himself was listed on the campaign's payroll, and it listed more than $30,000 (A$40,000) in payments to him. Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign listed more than $100,000 (A$133,000) in "payroll and benefits" for her in May.

Trump's campaign also spent a solid portion of its May haul on "collateral," like T-shirts, hats, mugs and signs. It spent more than $900,000 (A$1,2m) on those categories, more than 13 percent of its total spending. $208,000 (A$268,000) alone went on hats.

"Trump's failure to develop an effective fundraising operation has his campaign at this point without the resources to scale up its staffing, build a field organisation, or begin advertising in crucial states," said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College and campaign finance expert.

"His campaign spending is largely devoted to the costs of personal paraphernalia, such as hats and mugs, which can be sold or distributed by the campaign as a means of raising small sums of money."

Typically most campaigns will go out of their way to avoid mingling funds. But Trump has defied convention over and over.

"Starting with announcing his candidacy in the lobby of one of his buildings, Trump's campaign has heavily relied upon Trump's business resources, including by utilising Trump employees, office space and airplanes." said Lawrence Noble, general counsel of The Campaign Legal Center.

"While his campaign's FEC reports show that the campaign is paying for the use of Trump resources, it is impossible to tell at this point whether they are carefully following the campaign finance rules."

Noble, who served as general counsel of the Federal Election Commission for 13 years said the difficulty in intermingling a campaign with a candidate's business without raising legal issues is one of the reasons why most presidential candidate's attempt to separate themselves from their business interests when running.

"Trump has clearly gone in the opposite direction."

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but touted the candidate's use of his own assets in a statement.

"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 (A$66m). Our campaign is leaner and more efficient, like our government should be," Trump said in the release.

Technically, Trump has only lent his campaign money, meaning that his self-funding could ultimately cost him little.

Of course, Trump's FEC filing prompted a response from Hillary Clinton.

Source: CNBC