- Donald Trump wasn’t arrested Tuesday, but he got a big fundraising boost after claiming he would be.
- He raised $1.5 million in the three days after saying he’d be arrested, per multiple reports.
- That’s $500,000 per day, or almost double the daily average he received when he launched his 2024 bid.
Former President Donald Trump raised $1.5 million in the three days after he claimed on Truth Social that he’d be arrested Tuesday, per multiple media outlets.
Trump’s 2024 campaign confirmed the sum to Fox News, the outlet reported Wednesday. The money was raised from grassroots donations, according to Fox.
The Washington Post, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter, reported the same amount raised in that time frame.
Receiving $1.5 million over three days means Trump raised an average of $500,000 per day — almost double the daily average when he announced his bid for the White House in November.
The Trump campaign brought in $11.8 million in the six weeks before the announcement, averaging out at $280,000 per day. And in the six weeks after Trump announced his run, his campaign raised $9.5 million, or $226,000 per day.
The former president's funding boost came after he wrote on Truth Social, on Saturday that he would be arrested Tuesday over the hush-money investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office. It's unclear what basis he had for the claim — his lead defense attorney told Insider on Saturday that the defense team hadn't heard an arrest date from the Manhattan DA — but Tuesday came and went with no arrest.
Trump urged supporters to "PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK" in his Saturday Truth Social post, amid rumors that he may soon be indicted by a New York grand jury over the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.
As the anticipation of an indictment grew, Trump's campaign capitalized on the rumors by highlighting them in almost every fundraising message. The daily messages seen by Insider tell recipients that the "justice system has utterly COLLAPSED" and that they can be a "FOUNDING DEFENDER" by giving money to the former president.
One such email asked supporters to sign a petition against a potential Trump arrest and afterward requested donations to his campaign.
The former president's fundraising efforts appeared on Truth Social as well.
"If you are doing poorly, as so many of you are, do not send anything. If you are doing well, which was made possible through the great policies of the Trump Administration, send your contribution," he wrote on Monday. He re-posted the same message on Wednesday, making no mention of his own false claim that he would get arrested.
Trump has raised millions while casting himself as a victim of political persecution. In the weeks after he lost the 2020 election, he raised a reported $170 million off lies that the White House was stolen from him.
He also told voters that their money would go to an "Official Election Defense Fund" for investigating the election, but the January 6 House committee confirmed in June that no such fund ever existed. Most of the money instead went to Trump's PAC, per The Post.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside business hours.