According to remarks made by a campaign official to Politico on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump raised $35 million in the second quarter of 2023 for his 2024 presidential campaign effort.
The money was jointly raised by Trump’s joint fundraising committee, which consists of both his official campaign and the “Save America PAC,” a political action committee. The fact that it is almost twice as much as the $18.8 million that Trump raised in the first three months of the year indicates that his two indictments have brought about political benefits.
Trump was charged with violating the Espionage Act for allegedly possessing classified information at Mar-a-Lago after his presidential term had ended by federal Special Counsel Jack Smith on June 8 and by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on March 30 for allegedly falsifying business records. Since then, the indictment has been mentioned by his campaign in fundraising letters that depict Trump as the victim of “witch hunts” by Democratic officials.
Being the first president of the United States to be criminally charged after leaving office, his indictments attracted international media attention. Prime-time news coverage of his court appearances and trips to and from Miami and New York City was also covered. “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 conservative media consultant to Politico, adding that Trump’s “wall-to-wall coverage just put him top of mind for donors.”
According to Politico, Trump raised $6.6 million between his second indictment and court arraignment and $4 million in the 24 hours following his first indictment. After being charged, Trump held his first campaign-related in-person fundraiser at his estate in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event raised $2.1 million and drew prominent GOP figures, with Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama skipping a crucial Senate vote to attend.
Trump has been the Republican presidential primary’s most active fundraiser. According to an OpenSecrets report from September 2022, less than two years after the 2020 presidential election, Trump had raised more than $500 million for his political campaigns; this amount has since significantly increased.
Trump’s contributions are considerably less than his quarterly totals as president, though. He raised $45 million in the final three months of 2019.
Currently, Trump leads the Republican primary field with 52.4% support in an average of all major polls, per RealClearPolitics, with 46% support in Iowa and 44.3% in New Hampshire. His closest rival, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, has 21.5% support nationally.
Requests for comment from a Trump campaign spokesperson have not been obtained.
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