Trailing in polls, Trump boosts campaign spending

Trump's re-election campaign in June spent almost twice as much as the month before as polls show the president falling behind Joe Biden.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign ramped up spending in June amid a series of public opinion polls showing him badly trailing his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.

Federal election filings show the Trump campaign laid out $50 million last month, about twice as much as the month before.

The Democratic former vice president, in contrast, spent considerably less: $37 million.

A big chunk of that went to digital ads, where Biden's spending rose almost a hundred-fold, from about $175,000 in May up to nearly $17 million in June.

The June numbers also show Biden raised more money than the Republican president, $63.4 million to $55.2 million.

Both campaigns finished the month with roughly the same amount of cash in the bank: about $110 million.

Trump’s campaign spent more than $41 million on television, digital and other ads as public opinion polls showed Biden increasingly building a significant lead, with voters expressing disapproval over Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and protests over racial injustice.

Biden led Trump among registered voters by 10 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.