- Donald Trump’s felony conviction seems to have only turbocharged his campaign’s fundraising efforts.
- Trump’s campaign said it raised $53 million within a day of his guilty verdict.
- Donations to the campaign in May nearly doubled the $76 million it and the RNC reaped in April.
Former President Donald Trump’s conviction on Thursday hasn’t dampened his appeal among donors and supporters.
On Monday, Trump’s campaign team said it raised $141 million in donations alongside the Republican National Committee. The RNC is led by former North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara.
According to the statement, the former president pulled in two million donations last month, with a quarter of those donors being new to the campaign. The sum raised is nearly double the $76 million the campaign and the RNC collected in April.
"We are moved by the outpouring of support for President Donald J. Trump," Trump campaign senior advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said. "President Trump raised $141 million in small donations alone this month."
The sudden turn in fortunes comes after a tough week for Trump, who was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in his hush money criminal trial in New York on Thursday. The conviction also made Trump the first former US president to become a felon.
But getting convicted might have been a blessing in disguise for Trump. His campaign said that over one-third of the donations, or $53 million, came within a day of his guilty verdict.
"Unfortunately for Democrats, their rigged political operation has backfired in a historic way, and Republicans are in a stronger position than ever to FIRE Crooked Joe Biden and Make America Great Again by electing President Trump on November 5," said RNC co-chairs Michael Whatley and Lara Trump.
The Trump campaign's bumper haul in May puts pressure on President Joe Biden, whose campaign raised only $51 million in April.
Last month, the Biden campaign ended the first quarter of 2024 with $192 million. The campaign said this was the highest amount raised by any Democratic presidential candidate at this point in the election cycle, per Reuters.
"We'll see how the numbers actually shake out come July," Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa told Axios in a statement.
"But one thing's for certain: Trump's billionaire friends are propping up the campaign of a white-collar crook because they know the deal - they cut him checks, and he cuts their taxes while working people and the middle class pay the tab," Moussa added.