Donald Trump’s campaign announced on Friday that it had raised a staggering $35 million in online small-dollar donations following his conviction in the New York hush money trial. The campaign boasted that the verdict had rallied his supporters “like never before.”
This record-breaking figure nearly doubled the campaign’s previous best fundraising day on WinRed, the Republican Party’s official donation platform, according to campaign aides.
“Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats, with their election interference political witch hunt, have awakened the MAGA movement like never before,” senior campaign aides Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement. “Just minutes after the sham trial verdict was announced, our digital fundraising system was overwhelmed with support. Despite temporary delays online due to the high volume of traffic, President Trump raised $34.8 million from small-dollar donors.”
The advisors noted that 30 percent of the donations came from new contributors to the platform, highlighting an “outpouring of support from patriots across our country.”
On Thursday, a jury convicted Trump on all 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal during the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors revealed that Trump had an affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels shortly after his wife Melania gave birth in 2006. A decade later, he paid hush money to avoid scandal and deceive voters, then created false documents to conceal the payment.
Trump is scheduled for sentencing on July 11 but is expected to appeal the verdict.
President Biden has avoided commenting on the trial, and there is no evidence of his or his administration’s involvement in the investigation, which was initiated by New York State rather than the federal government.
Trump has a history of leveraging scandals to his advantage. Immediately after his conviction, his campaign website redirected visitors to a fundraising page declaring him a “political prisoner.” The page crashed within minutes due to the surge of supporters overwhelming WinRed.
Trump often portrays his legal challenges as a fight against the “deep state” and Biden’s administration, presenting himself as a martyr willing to sacrifice his freedom for his supporters. In April, he compared himself to Nelson Mandela for the second time and has also likened himself to Jesus Christ.
“WITCH HUNT! IF THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ME, IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!” Trump posted on his platform Truth Social on Friday.
