According to newly released numbers from Trump’s 2024 campaign, the former president’s fundraising efforts have been significantly boosted by his indictment. Trump’s campaign, which is due to report its first-quarter financial activity on Saturday, raised a total of $18.8 million in the first quarter through its joint fundraising committee and other means.
However, the campaign claims it raised nearly the same amount in the two weeks after the accusations were filed against the former president – $15.4 million — demonstrating how much the charges against Trump have galvanized his supporters.
Nearly a fifth of individuals who donated to Trump during that time had never given to him before, further indicating that the indictment has allowed Trump to broaden his financial base. The numbers give a view of how Trump’s arrest has impacted the Republican primary, at least for the time being.
The former president’s indictment and the possibility of additional charges in many other investigations pose severe legal risks, but they have also helped to strengthen his standing with his followers and increase his campaign war fund.
“In general, any time a candidate’s name is all over the media and dominating attention, it’s good for fundraising,” said Eric Wilson, a Republican digital strategist. “The wall-to-wall coverage just put him top of mind for donors.”
It is unclear whether Trump’s frenetic fundraising pace will continue or if it will eventually settle down to its slower, pre-indictment level. According to the numbers presented by his team, Trump had been raising around $168,000 each day from January 1 until when charges were brought against him on March 30. Within the next twenty-four hours, he managed to collect over $4 million.
Since announcing his candidacy for president last November, Trump has been raising money for two separate political entities: his leadership PAC, Save America, and his presidential campaign.
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Trump’s campaign claims $14.5 million was raised in the first quarter, with nearly all of it coming through a transfer by the joint fundraising committee, which will be reflected in the candidate’s filing with the Federal Election Commission. Spending for the campaign was estimated at $3.5 million, with a total of $13.9 million in cash on hand as of the end of March, according to the report.
Save America’s spending and cash on hand were not disclosed by Trump representatives, nor were any other financial details. Until July, the group in question has no obligation to report its filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The ex-president has made his legal cases the focus of his online fundraising drive, frequently sending out calls to supporters in which he portrays himself as a victim and begs them to donate to his campaign. One such email from the Trump campaign read, “With the witch hunts heating up like never before, please make a contribution to stand with me in the fight to SAVE AMERICAN.
Trump has been able to attract money from small donors because to his appeals. More than 97% of donors to Trump’s joint fundraising committee and his campaign in the two weeks after the indictment gave amounts of $200 or less, according to data provided by his team.
Trump has raised more than $34 million since the start of the year, buoyed by a big bump in donations since the announcement of criminal charges against him
His total after the March 30 indictment approached what he took in over the previous three months https://t.co/TeTttFaXDo
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) April 15, 2023
Trump’s campaign claimed that in the two weeks after the indictment, he received more than 312,000 donations to his various accounts, with an average contribution of $49. Trump’s fundraising performance is a fraction of what he raised when he was president; he brought in $30.3 million during the first three months of 2019, during his reelection run.
However, given his substantial base of support and his accelerated fundraising since the indictment, he is almost certain to be a top performer in the current election. He has raised more money than any other candidate so far, including former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who has said she has raised over $11 million since launching her candidacy on February 15.
As of right now, Haley has $7.8 million in the bank. However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis presents Trump with a serious fundraising challenge. Since being reelected in November of 2018, DeSantis has been steadily accumulating large and small donations in a state-based campaign account, all of which he could theoretically use for a future run for the presidency.
Trump raised a combined $18.8 million in the first quarter through his joint fundraising committee and his campaign, the latter of which is required to report its first-quarter financial activity on Saturday. https://t.co/B0EV0kIwxx
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) April 15, 2023
The group claimed to have $85 million accessible, according to documents disclosed earlier this week. Since last November, notable conservative donors including Pennsylvania options trader Jeff Yass, investor John Childs, and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts have given DeSantis seven-figure sums to support his campaign.
Meanwhile, a super PAC supporting DeSantis has revealed that it has amassed $30 million in donations. DeSantis has been gaining support from Republican Party contributors who want to move on from Trump, and on Friday, the nonprofit Never Back Down put $3.5 million in media buys for a one-week, national cable and early-state broadcast ad blitz beginning next Tuesday.
The Trump campaign has been trying measures to increase donations. Meredith O’Rourke, a Republican fundraiser, has been brought on to lead the organization’s fundraising activities. Since October, O’Rourke has also been employed by the leading pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again, Inc.
The organization had $54 million in the bank at year’s end and has been airing TV advertising attacking DeSantis for the past two weeks. Parks Bennett, who runs the Republican digital firm Campaign Inbox, has been enlisted to lead the campaign’s efforts to raise money online. The company also assisted Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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