CNN reporter grills Donald Trump on amount of personal money he's willing to invest in campaign: 'How much?'
Donald Trump was pressed on Wednesday by a CNN reporter who repeatedly asked him how much of his own money he was willing to invest in his flailing campaign.
"Are you prepared to write a check to help yourself get over the finish line. And if so, how big?" asked Dana Bash, chief political correspondent for CNN.
"Let me just tell you that we have - I'll have more than $100 million in the campaign," Trump said. "Hillary Clinton has nothing in the campaign. She's all special interests and donors and they give her the money, then she will do whatever they tell her to do."
The Republican presidential nominee added: "But I will have more than $100 million in the campaign. And I am prepared to go much more than that."
Donald Trump: "I'll have over $100 million in the campaign, and I'm prepared to go much more than that" https://t.co/aNVUbyIQJo
- CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 26, 2016
"You have a pretty big bank account - and time is running out, the clock is ticking," Bash replied. "Will you write a check?"
"Already done that," Trump said. "Already wrote a number of them."
The New York businessman said that his rival, Hillary Clinton, was outspending him 50 to 1 in Florida.
"But you have the means to combat that," Bash noted.
Trump said in the "old days" he would have received "credit" for "spending less money" and being ahead in the polls. A new poll released Wednesday showed him leading by 2 points in the Sunshine State. The real-estate mogul added that he had committed $100 million to his campaign.
"Can you just be specific? How much are you willing to put down in order to put up new ads?" Bash pressed.
"I will have over $100 million in and am willing to invest much more," Trump said.
"Like, how much?" Bash asked.
"Don't, don't - just, let's go to your next question, Dana," Trump said.
Through the end of September, Clinton raised far more money than Trump, raking in $449 million total compared to his $163 million.
Trump's interview with Bash was one of the first he has done with CNN in weeks. While on the campaign trail, the Republican businessman routinely trashes the news outlet, dubbing it the "Clinton News Network."
Trump faces significant hurdles to climb before the November 8 election. He is trailing Clinton nationally and in several key battleground states.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- India not benefiting from democratic dividend; young have a Kohli mentality, says Raghuram Rajan
- Indo-Gangetic Plains, home to half the Indian population, to soon become hotspot of extreme climate events: study
- 7 Vegetables you shouldn’t peel before eating to get the most nutrients
- Gut check: 10 High-fiber foods to add to your diet to support digestive balance
- 10 Foods that can harm Your bone and joint health
- 6 Lesser-known places to visit near Mussoorie