The Daily Populous Saturday August 31st, 2024 morning edition
Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by newsweek

Donald Trump complained that he spent millions to beat Joe Biden before the president withdrew from the 2024 election cycle, asking a crowd, "How would you like to be me?"

During his rally in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday, the former president spoke about the economy and inflation, as well as talking about the money he spent competing with Biden.

He said, "I spent $100 million on fighting him, we weren't fighting anyone else, we weren't fighting a vice president, we didn't even know who the hell she was, and then all of a sudden, they say 'Joe you're losing badly you got to get out.'"

Seemingly referring to the Biden administration, Trump added that, "They say listen we're going to take the opponent out we're going to throw another guy in to finish it off."

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a town hall on August 29, 2024, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. At his rally in Michigan, Trump complained that he spent $100 million to beat Joe... Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a town hall on August 29, 2024, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. At his rally in Michigan, Trump complained that he spent $100 million to beat Joe Biden before the president withdraw from the 2024 election. More Charlie Neibergall/AP

After Biden withdrew from the presidential race, his campaign revealed that it had generated $95 million by the end of June, while Trump's campaign had reportedly accumulated $128 million, according to Reuters.

When the president endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris, her campaign quickly gathered momentum as donations began streaming in, generating $126 million in only a few days, per the outlet.

Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesperson for Trump, told Newsweek, "President Trump was so dominant that he knocked Joe Biden out of the race, and then the Democrats had to stage a political coup to replace him with Comrade Kamala."

Trump's complaints over spending money fighting a former opponent in the presidential race raises questions about how money affects a candidate's chances of winning.

Comparing the amount of money spent by each of the two main U.S. parties, and the winners of the presidential elections, the highest spending does not always correlate to party success.

Per figures from Statista, in 1984 and 1996 the elections were won by incumbent candidates that spent around half of what their opponents spent. In 2004, the Democrats spent over $150 million more than the Republicans, who won.

In recent elections, the impact of spending remains unclear.

In 2016, Trump's campaign spent less than Hillary Clinton's — $833.85 million compared to $668.13 million, according to Statista — despite winning the election.

Although in 2020 the Democrats spent more and won, they spent an extraordinary $3.1 billion to Trump's $828 million in what has been labeled the most expensive election in history. Joe Biden beat Trump by 4.5 percent of the popular vote, which was double the margin in the 2016 election, although it yielded 74 electoral college votes, almost as many as Trump beat Clinton with.

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