WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump — fresh off a weekend campaign appearance where he said he’s “more committed” than ever in his third bid for the White House — was given a second 45-day extension to file his financial disclosure form with the Federal Election Commission.
Citing “the complexity of his financial holdings,” Trump attorney Derek Ross asked for additional time to complete the disclosure. The FEC granted the request, bumping the deadline to file the form to March 15. Trump had previously been granted an extension on Dec. 16.
Presidential candidates are required to report detailed information on their assets, income and debt within 30 days of becoming a candidate, but can ask for two 45-day extensions in writing if they are unable to assemble the necessary information.
As a candidate in 2015 and 2016, Trump filed the documents, which ran to more than 90 pages, on time, providing information on his hotels, golf courses, resorts and other investments. He frequently boasted that he “built a great company” and touted his business acumen as a key qualification to be president.
The extension was granted as Trump made his first campaign appearances in early primary states. He made an address Saturday to the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting in Salem and at a small event in Columbia, South Carolina.
The former president trails Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely believed to be entering the race, in the Granite State by 42% to 30% among likely voters, according to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Thursday. A survey of likely GOP voters by the South Carolina Policy Council found that only 37% think the party should nominate Trump in 2024. Key political figures in all-important Iowa won’t return his calls.
Trump’s 2024 campaign got off to a slow start. He announced his candidacy Nov. 15, a week after Republicans’ disappointing results in the midterm election losses that owed in part to the failure of Trump-hand-picked candidates.
Deep-pocketed Wall Street donors have signaled publicly that they won’t back him. His support from more modest contributors through WinRed, the Republican online fundraising platform, was tepid after he announced his run, FEC data shows.
Trump’s campaign is due to report its 2022 fundraising totals to the FEC on Tuesday.
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(Bloomberg News writer Mark Niquette contributed to this report.)
