Photo: AP

Donald Trump’s fundraising gap behind Hillary Clinton has been a standing cause for concern for Republican elders, but the situation was revealed to be even grimmer than previously known Monday night. According to newly filed FEC documents, the Trump campaign ended the month of May with less than $1.3 million on hand, compared to the over $42.4 million held by Clinton.



During that same month, the Trump campaign raised just $3.1 million in contributions compared to the $19.5 million Hillary for America took in. According to The New York Times, these numbers put Trump at the “worst financial and organizational disadvantage of any major party nominee in recent history.”

Previously, Trump has bragged about his relatively small (and shrinking) staff, saying “small is good, flexible, save money and number one!” Even with the considerable amount of free press the presumptive Republican nominee attracts, however, it’s unclear how the insurgent Trump campaign will match Clinton’s incoming ad blitz.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, leading GOP fundraiser Fred Malek said that Trump’s financial deficit was “huge and not widely understood,” adding, “Unless he’s willing to write a huge personal check, which is unlikely, I believe Trump will have a financial disparity of $300 million to $500 million.”

It seems likely that the Republican National Committee will end up footing much of the bill without their presumptive nominee’s help: Given a list of 24 “big-name” GOP donors last week, Trump reportedly called three before giving up.

On the upside, Trump is apparently putting the money he does have left to good use: