Donald Trump has claimed he brought in $10million for his campaign in the five days since he was indicted by a New York grand jury – the most lucrative period of fundraising so far.
‘Since news of the indictment first broke, I’ve been informed that our campaign has raised over $10,000,000,’ Trump said yesterday evening following his rousing 25-minute speech to supporters in Mar-a-Lago, just hours after he was arraigned in a Manhattan court.
Trump aide Jason Miller, who earlier on Tuesday tweeted his boss had pulled in more than $8million since Thursday’s indictment, appeared to confirm via Twitter that the donation total had breached the $10million mark last night.
Yet the former president was still begging his supporters to keep the money flowing in after claiming he would spend hundreds of millions to fight the court case and clear his name.
‘If you are doing poorly, as 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 to donaldjtrump.com,’ he declared via his Truth Social network.
It came as his campaign sent out marketing emails to subscribers flogging a t-shirt with a mocked-up mugshot of Trump following his arraignment yesterday.
Former US president Donald Trump leaves after speaking during a press conference following his court appearance over an alleged ‘hush-money’ payment, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 4, 2023
Trump implored his supporters to donate more money to his campaign last night while his aide Jason Miller appeared to confirm his boss’ claim that $10million had been raised for the campaign fund since the indictment on Thursday
Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his arraignment, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump surrendered to authorities ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.
No mugshot YET but that’s not stopping Trump from fundraising using a fake picture as the former president’s campaign claims $10M in donations since the Manhattan indictment
In another email message to supporters yesterday, Trump said: ‘You are why I could NEVER give up our mission to save America – no matter how nasty and vicious the attacks ever got.’
Claims that his campaign has pulled in $10 million in just five days could not immediately be verified because fundraising data is only recorded with federal authorities until the end of each quarter.
But in recent days the campaign said it had received a surge in small donations – a quarter of them from first time donors, averaging out at $34 apiece.
Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges.
The former reality TV star has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, raising millions of dollars since the indictment on claims of a ‘witch hunt.’
A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Jason Miller, a member of Trump’s entourage masterminding the campaign, tweeted his boss had raised $7million over the weekend, plus another $1.1million on Monday
‘Donald Trump is Tupac, Donald Trump is Biggie Smalls… he’s better than Tupac. I’m east coast, so I love Biggie,’ Alina Habba told ‘The Benny Show’ podcast
Meanwhile, a former Trump lawyer compared the former president to hip-hop artists Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G, arguing that the criminal charges brought against him will only boost his profile.
Alina Habba told ‘The Benny Show’ podcast earlier this week that Trump’s popularity would skyrocket, much in the same way that Tupac and Biggie’s record sales soared after they were arrested.
‘Donald Trump is Tupac, Donald Trump is Biggie Smalls… he’s better than Tupac. I’m east coast, so I love Biggie,’ Habba said.
Tupac’s sister Set Shakur later told TMZ that Habba’s comments were ‘blasphemous’, adding: ‘My brother was measured by his integrity, his principles and personal and collective responsibility.’
She pointed out her brother took some responsibility for his actions during his 1994 sexual abuse trial, admitting he had become ‘so involved in my career that I didn’t see this coming. I have no shame, I don’t feel shame,’ and added she didn’t see Trump doing the same.
