From Donald Trump, Hints of a Campaign Exit Strategy
According to the last campaign finance filing, Mr. Trump had so far spent $2 million of his own money on his self-financed bid for office. That is a fraction of what other major campaigns have spent, and most of it has been spent reimbursing himself for the cost of his plane and office space in Trump Tower. When financial disclosure reports are made public next week, it is unlikely he will be shown to have invested much more.
What has helped keep Mr. Trump’s candidacy strong has been the intense news media coverage of his bid — that and the universal name recognition he enjoyed heading into the race and a fractured nominating field, with 15 candidates. Most candidates would give anything for the free airtime Mr. Trump gets — and lower-polling hopefuls like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky have publicly complained about it.