Trump on a budget? May not need as much for TV anyway | McClatchy Washington Bureau

As Donald Trump gears up for what might be a challenging job of raising a billion dollars or more for his general election campaign, there is one unusual wrinkle: he might not need as much for TV ads as anyone else.

Insiders question whether Trump – who is not running a traditional political campaign – will even need a traditional wave of ads given the amount of free television coverage he draws. One study estimated that news media coverage of Trump, who is arguably more available to TV news media interviews than any major candidate in history, has been worth about $2 billion in equivalent advertising.

Relying on free media would mitigate the fact that he might have hard time matching Hillary Clinton’s campaign war chest.

“Trump may have a unique ability to run a campaign on a lot less money,” said Brian Ballard, a leading Republican fundraiser from Florida who raised money for Jeb Bush and later Marco Rubio and is now ready to start raising money for Trump. “I think he could do it in a much more lean fashion.”

Trump has suggested the same, saying he expects Clinton to raise $2 billion, but he’s not sure he needs to raise as much as $1 billion.

“I’m not even sure that’s necessary, because I have a big voice, I go on shows like yours, I explain the truth. And people seem to go along with it,” he told NBC’s Lester Holt.

The lowered expectations come as some major Republican benefactors remain reluctant to engage in heavy lifting for a candidate who vilified them on the campaign trail. Those electing to stay on the sidelines – at least for now – include the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

The brothers’ political network says it could contribute if a Republican candidate addressed its issues “and did not engage in personal attacks and mudslinging,” said Mark Holden, chairman of the board of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the funding arm of the political network backed by the brothers. But he added, it “hasn’t happened yet and there is no indication that this will happen given the current tone and tenor of the various campaigns.”

Republican fundraiser Lisa Spies said she and her network of donors plan to skip the presidential race and concentrate on the House and Senate races. She said she doesn’t doubt that most donors will come around, but she questioned how much enthusiasm they will muster.

“With Trump we don’t even know what he stands for or what he is,” she said. “I don’t think people are lying when they say Republicans will rally, but we need to be better than OK. We are running against a powerhouse.”

Republican leaders insist the faithful will eventually rally to the expected nominee’s side, but they acknowledge Trump begins at a decided disadvantage: Trump’s decision to raise money for the November election is a major reversal for a candidate who repeatedly boasted that his wealth allowed him to pay for much of his primary bid, and who mocked his Republican rivals as puppets of deep-pocketed donors.

And Trump, whose past fundraising consisted of little more than a “donate” button on his website and sales of his iconic “Make America Great Again” hats and T-shirts, lacks the necessary campaign infrastructure that past nominees nurtured and maintained over months, if not years, of work.

“We’re kind of way behind,” said Ballard.

Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are hammering out the details of a joint fundraising agreement, similar to those reached by 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and 2008 nominee John McCain. And Trump last week named a national campaign finance chairman, promising that, as he had in the primary, he’d put “substantial money” toward the general election.

Ballard said fundraisers are coming aboard, even if the candidates they once backed are not. The motivator may not be Trump, however, as much as it is opposition to Clinton.

“I’m optimistic that the bulk of folks who funded Republican Party efforts in the past will be there,” Ballard said.

Donors say it’s up to Trump to bridge the gap between his campaign and Republicans leery of what they see as a lack of conservative credentials.

“I’m optimistic it can be done, but I don’t think it’s a sure thing at all,” said David Wilkins, a Greenville, S.C.-based attorney who was state finance chairman for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s presidential bid before backing Jeb Bush. Both former candidates Wilkins backed have said they will not support Trump.

“There’s a consensus that people don’t want Hillary Clinton, but is that going to be enough to heal the wounds of a divided party and pull everyone together?” Wilkins said. “That’s an open question.”

Republican fundraiser Jorge Arrizurieta, a longtime Bush supporter, said he’s not heard from the Trump campaign and for now is not supporting it.

“The person who needs to reach out is Donald Trump, the person who needs to be dramatically more inclusive is Donald Trump,” he said.

Republican National Committee officials downplay the dissent and say they expect Republicans to come around.

“When a donor says he’s not ready, in this day and age it becomes newsworthy, but 90 percent are going to contribute to the Republican nominee,” said Louis Pope, a veteran RNC member from Maryland. “Most people will eventually come around.”

Trump lent his primary campaign $36 million and raised about $12 million from small donors, according to the latest campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. (Raising more money could allow Trump to pay himself back, or he could choose to give the money to the campaign. He told Fox News this week that he didn’t expect to be paid back.)

He’s ruled out the idea of funding the general election himself, telling MSNBC last week that he didn’t really want “sell a couple of buildings and self-fund.” He insisted, “I really won’t be asking for money for myself; I’ll be asking money for the party.”

Trump has also toned down his attacks on political action committees, which he once called “very dangerous” and “very bad.” Asked about a pro-Trump Super PAC that is gearing up for the general, told NBC that “we’ll see what happens.”

Supporters such as Elam Stoltzfus, a Lancaster, Penn., retiree who spent the spring volunteering for the campaign, said Trump will retain their trust – even if he becomes more like a traditional candidate and solicits campaign contributions and winks at a Super PAC.

“The resolve to change the country is deep and I’m not sure that anything he does will change that resolve,” Stoltzfus said. “He’s the guy to do it.”