One possible excuse for Trump’s lag is that small and cheap is better than big and expensive. In a statement Tuesday morning defending the numbers, Trump said, “Our campaign is leaner and more efficient, like our government should be.” It’s certainly true that the campaign is leaner, but there’s less proof of efficiency. Trump’s campaign team numbers 69, according to filings, which is about a tenth of the Clinton staff. But they’re not coming cheap (senior adviser Stephen Miller made $10,000 in May, suggesting a $120,000 salary), nor are the results especially good: Trump is trailing in every recent poll, and he’s lacking in crucial campaign functions, like building teams in battleground states.

Another excuse for poor fundraising is that Trump is wealthy enough to self-fund, so that his shortcomings in collecting other people’s money matter less. “If need be, there could be unlimited ‘cash on hand’ as I would put up my own money, as I have already done through the primaries, spending over $50 million dollars,” Trump said in his statement. In theory, that is true—though doubts persist about how much money he really has, and will continue until and unless he releases tax returns. Trump loaned his campaign more than $2 million to cover expenses, but that’s classified as a loan, rather than giving the money. In fact, one the most striking things about the report is how much money the campaign is paying to Trump-affiliated companies. The Mar-a-Lago Club, which he owns, received more than $432,000 for catering. Tag Air, which Trump also owns, got $350,000 for use of planes and helicopters. Even Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing pulled in $4,000. Trump Tower received rent for office space.

On occasions like this, it’s hard not to think of Trump’s comment in 2000: “It's very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” Politico points out that Trump spent $208,000 on hats, while “by comparison, the campaign spent only $48,000 on data management and $115,000 on online advertising.” Those “Make America Great Again” hats are great merchandise, and useful for spreading the Trump brand. Data management? Not so much. But Trump has loaned himself more than $40 million now, and if he can’t ramp up his fundraising, he’ll never be able to pay himself back.

What the FEC report shows is how Trump has chosen perhaps the worst possible fundraising compromise. On the one hand, he has reversed course on his pledge to self-fund, a crucial primary-election talking point that allowed Trump to argue he was untainted by owing any donors. Yet even as he surrenders his purity, he’s not successfully raising much money. Hillary Clinton can’t claim any moral high ground on donations either, but she has $42.5 million in the bank to show for it.