Donald Trump’s 2024 fundraising spiked around indictments: Analysis
Gabe Kaminsky
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Former President Donald Trump hauled in a windfall in campaign donations through WinRed during announcements of looming indictments, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
Trump’s joint fundraising committee received $53.8 million in the first half of 2023, though, combined with his leadership Save America PAC and official campaign, spent more than $57 million, according to newly released filings. While data show a notable difference between how much the former president’s joint fundraising committee pocketed during his March and June indictments, filings shed light on how Trump’s supporters rushed to back him amid legal chaos — with contributions spiking during those times.
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“When our base feels like the leader of the party is being unfairly targeted, they’re going to respond,” Stephen Lawson, a Republican strategist, told the Washington Examiner. Still, Lawson cited how Trump’s Save America PAC spent over $20 million on legal fees in the first months of 2023, amid various investigations into the former president, whereas Democrats are in the favorable position of “stockpiling cash for the general election.”
On March 30, the day Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in connection to a $130,000 “hush-money” payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, the former president’s joint fundraising committee received around $2.25 million, according to an analysis by campaign finance tracker Rob Pyers.
One day later, that number surged to almost $2.5 million, following March 29 fundraising sitting at about $5,000.
Trump later pleaded not guilty to business records falsification charges on April 4, a day that saw the committee pull about $4 million. Following April 4, fundraising dramatically fell and mostly stayed under $500,000 per day, until June, according to records. On the eighth of that month, when the former president pleaded not guilty to subsequent charges related to his handling of classified documents, the committee received $1.3 million, according to the Pyers analysis.
https://twitter.com/rpyers/status/1686224170944724992?s=20
“Every time the DOJ targets Trump, it serves as a reminder to his supporters that Trump is the candidate most feared by the political establishment,” a longtime source in Trump’s orbit told the Washington Examiner.
A 2024 RealClearPolitics GOP primary polling average finds Trump with 54% support, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 18.3%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 4.9%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 4.3%, ex-United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley at 3.5%, and Sen. Tim Scott at 3%.
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Trump is expected to be indicted soon in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The Trump campaign did not return a request for comment.