NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump says he’s leaning against accepting public financing for his general election campaign – an option that would have saved him the arduous task of raising the vast sums he will need but also would have put strict limits on what he could spend.
“I think I’ve ruled it out,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a Tuesday interview with The Associated Press.
“I don’t like the idea of taking taxpayer money to run a campaign,” he added. “I think it’s inappropriate.”
Trump has largely self-financed his primary campaign, spending what he estimates to be $45-$50 million dollars so far, supplemented by contributions from supporters.
Trump, his aides and Republican officials have been huddling in New York and Washington in recent days hashing out details of how they’ll run his general election campaign, including various fundraising options, after he suddenly became his party’s presumptive nominee last week.