New figures from the Trump campaign confirm that it reaped a windfall from former President Donald Trump‘s indictment.
Trump pulled in $18.8 million during the first quarter from both his campaign and joint fundraising committee, filings reveal. The first quarter ended around the time of Trump’s indictment, but in the two weeks that followed, Trump hauled $15.4 million, highlighting the indictment bonanza, according to figures shared with Politico.
DEFIANT TRUMP SAYS HE ‘DID NOTHING WRONG’ AND WILL ‘NEVER’ DROP OUT OF 2024 RACE AFTER INDICTMENT
In other words, Trump’s fundraising apparatus has come close to his three-month first-quarter haul within a mere two-week period, underscoring how the indictment energized his backers and prompted them to open up their coffers.
Even before the indictment was handed down, Trump’s allies began fundraising off the specter of it. By the time his indictment came, Trumpworld began selling T-shirts with faux images of a Trump mugshot. His campaign also blasted out a rotation of fundraising emails seeking to capitalize on the frenzy.
“With the witch hunts heating up like never before, please make a contribution to stand with me in the fight to SAVE AMERICA,” one email said.
Within 24 hours of his indictment, Trump raised $4 million, according to his campaign.
For comparison, Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley‘s campaign announced an $11 million fundraising haul in the six-week period that succeeded her campaign launch on Feb. 15.
At the end of the first quarter, Trump’s campaign spent $3.5 million and held $13.9 million cash on hand, per the filings. Much of his first-quarter earnings were derived from a transfer of funds from his joint fundraising committee, Politico reported.
In addition to his joint fundraising committee and campaign, Trump’s 2024 efforts have been aided by multiple political action committees such as the Save America PAC and MAGA Inc PAC.
Trump was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment earlier this month in what prosecutors described as a “catch and kill” scheme to evade election laws in 2016.
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Much of the charges pertain to the alleged falsification of business records to cover up the scheme, in which Trump’s former lawyer funneled hush money payments to three individuals to keep them quiet about information that could have harmed his 2016 campaign.
Trump has professed his innocence across the board and blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for mounting a “witch hunt” against him. He remains the front-runner in the 2024 GOP primary field and is due back in court for a hearing in December.
