Donald Trump says he’s prepared to spend $100 million or more to capture the Republican presidential nomination.
While that’s a lot less than the billion dollars he previously promised to spend, Trump told The New York Times on Friday he probably won’t need to shell out that much of his personal fortune because his campaign is generating enough free publicity.
The GOP frontrunner estimates the recent extensive media coverage saved him at least $15 million in campaign commercials over the summer.
Despite a lukewarm debate performance in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday and widespread criticism for failing to correct a supporter who said President Barack Obama was a Muslim and not American, Trump is fully confident he will win the GOP nomination.
“The Republican Party will kick in money, the whole party thing will get involved, but still I will spend whatever is necessary,” Trump told the Times.
After months of dominating the polls and exasperating establishment rivals Trump became the center of attacks during Wednesday’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
On Friday, the billionaire developer bailed on a major gathering of Republican leaders in South Carolina amid backlash for sidestepping a comment by a supporter who called the President a Muslim at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire the night before.
“We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims,” the unidentified man told Trump. “You know our current president is one. You know he’s not even an American.”
But instead of correcting the man, Trump said: “We need this question. This is the first question.”
According a statement sent by his campaign, the GOP front-runner ditched his appearance in South Carolina because of a “significant business transaction.”