By Gram Slattery and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters he planned to allocate $400 million to $500 million from his MAGA Inc super PAC for Republicans in the November midterm elections, trying to calm party worries that he will not spend the money.
“I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try to help us,” Trump said at an event in the Oval Office. “This is money from MAGA Inc. This is money that I control.”
Trump said the fund has about $1 billion. Some Republicans have expressed concern that he would not spend the money to help his party retain control of Congress, as they have not seen much evidence that it is being spent.
It is unclear how much Trump has spent thus far.
With only two months until the November 3 Election Day, spending up to $500 million in a last-minute deluge of targeted advertising might not have the effect that Republicans want, as some voters may have already made up their minds and available television ad space may be limited.
One race in particular that Republicans are worried about is Republican Ken Paxton’s attempt to win a hotly contested Senate race over Democrat James Talarico in Texas. Trump endorsed Paxton over incumbent Republican John Cornyn over the wishes of Senate Republican leaders.
Trump said he might spend some of his money in the 2028 election year, when voters decide who will succeed him as the next president.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Steve Holland;Editing by Andy Sullivan, David Ljunggren, Michelle Nichols and David Gaffen)
