Donald Trump is concerned Joe Biden's $130m war chest dwarfs his $40m as former president faces cash crunch over $540m bond payments and Republican donors pledging seven-figure amounts 'are nudged to go above $10m'

Donald Trump is scrambling to catch up to President Joe Biden's massive fundraising advantage with just eight months until the election.

The Republican National Committee has just $40 million in the bank compared to the $130 million Democratic operations had last month.

The huge gap in funding is steadily growing as Democrats open their wallets to support Biden's campaign to hold the White House.

Democrats raised more than $10 million in the 24 hours after the State of the Union last Thursday, far higher than Trump's biggest day where he raised $4.2 million after his mugshot in the Georgia election fraud case was released.

Donald Trump is scrambling to raise cash as the Republican National Committee has just $40 million in the bank

Joe Biden has $130 million to work with so far and is raising money much faster

Additionally, the Service Employees International Union planned to spend $200 million to convince working class Americans to vote for Biden and other Democrats.

Trump is trying to close the gap by schmoozing as many rich donors as he can, entertaining at Mar-a-Lago three nights a week, The New York Times reported. 

Oracle founder Larry Ellison and sugar tycoon Pepe Fanjul are among those wined and dined at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort in recent months.

Mar-a-Lago will also host an expensive dinner early next month to launch a new joint fundraising account, which it is hoped will raise at least $25 million.

Trump has also taken steps to promote his donors and supporters and make them feel important at his campaign events.

A special room for big donors to mingle was set up at Mar-a-Lago on Super Tuesday last week and Trump stopped by to thank them.

They included Trish Duggan, a Florida philanthropist who gave Trump's campaign more than $5 million.

Trump earlier thanked billionaire casino owner Steve Wynn and hedge fund manager John Paulson in his New Hampshire primary victory speech.

Then he put New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, whom he made ambassador to the UK during his presidential term, on stage with him after the South Carolina poll.

Trump put New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, whom he made ambassador to the UK during his presidential term, on stage with him after the South Carolina poll

Johnson is joined by Donald Trump at a New York Jets' Kickoff Luncheon

In another sign that he wants to ramp up fundraising, Trump and his allies staged a coup to take over the RNC, installing his daughter-in-law Lara as co-chair.

About 60 staff were laid off or forced to re-apply for this jobs in a bloodbath days after Lara Trump was unanimously elected on March 8.

Struggling to attract new rich donors, Trump's team is asking those who already pledged seven-figure sums to up their contributions to more than $10 million, according to the New York Times. 

'He (Trump) understands the one advantage the Biden campaign has is financial resources... and he understands we need to do all we can to negate that,' Republican lobbyist Brian Ballard said.

A big part of the problem is donors fear their cash will be siphoned into paying Trump's mounting legal bills and court judgements.

The former president was ordered to put up a $91.6 million bond after being found liable for defaming writer E Jean Carroll, while his appeal plays out.

He also faces a deadline to come up with a $450 million bond in the New York civil fraud case against his businesses after losing in court last week.

Trump's massive legal bills are still rising both from these cases, and his 91 criminal charges in various cases - which were slightly reduced after a judge quashed several of the Georgia election fraud cases on Wednesday.

He has been using his Save America PAC to pay the legal fees, but that fund is almost empty and he will soon have to find other avenues to pay his bills.

Trump's advisers insisted RNC funds would not be used to pay his personal expenses, but his PACs are another matter.

Many potential donors are also hesitant to contribute after receiving blowback for supporting the controversial candidate in 2016.

Trump met with billionaire TikTok investor Jeff Yass and Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, but neither of them are known to have have donated.

'Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,' Musk wrote on Twitter on March 6.

Trump greets supporters at one of many fundraisers at his Mar-a-Lago resort

Donald Trump attends a Hawaiian themed fundraiser accompanied by Eric and Lara Trump. The fundraiser benefits Curetivity and is hosted by Dr Peter Lamelas

Longtime Republican financier Ken Griffin is also holding out after backing Trump's defeated opponent Nikki Haley, but may donate in the future.

'Can I just have a moment to be sad over Nikki not being in the race?' he said at a conference in Florida this week. 

A person close to Yass told the NYT he plans to make a seven-figure donation, but did not say where the money would be directed.

Donors who don't want their names associated with Trump can give to more shadowy organizations that don't have to disclose contributors.

Ultimately, although Trump is concerned about the funding gap, his allies believe they will come up with enough to win the election.

'Hillary Clinton way out-raised President Trump but he connected with the American people and that was the difference right there,' former RNC co-chair Tommy Hicks Jr told the NYT.