The likely indictment of Donald Trump in New York has sparked an avalanche of funding, with donors giving $1.5 million in the three days after the former president announced he was facing arrest.
It marks a significant uptick in fundraising after a slow start after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid in November.
The Trump campaign confirmed the numbers to and said the money kept rolling in, fueled by grassroots anger at the treatment of Trump.
He called for protests on Saturday as he expected to be arrested Tuesday in connection with a New York investigation into hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
However, Tuesday came and went without an arrest. And on Wednesday, the grand jury failed to hear evidence, delaying the prospect of an indictment.
Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign has raised more than $1.5 million in the three days after he announced he expected an arrest in connection with an investigation in New York
Trump has also blasted his rival Ron DeSantis (left) for being “too busy chatting with a Ratings Challenged TV host from England” in the form of Piers Morgan (right).
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has sent out a spate of fundraising emails to capitalize on the unprecedented prospect of a former president’s arrest.
“We are once again witnessing the complete and utter collapse of the American justice system,” it said in an email Monday.
“But very soon President Trump will be back in the White House to restore true justice to America.”
Some news reports suggest Trump would enjoy a “perp walk” and handcuffs in New York, images that could be used in new fundraisers to outrage supporters.
But a source familiar with his thinking said that wasn’t the case.
“There is no world where Donald Trump would want to be arrested,” the source said. “It’s different than maintaining the political character of this front and this center.”
The financial figures bear this out.
In the two weeks after Trump announced his campaign last year, he raised more than $4.1 million in online donations, according to Politico.
That equates to just under $300,000 a day, suggesting the indictment news is worth about $200,000 more a day.
But that’s less than $1 million a day his Save America Joint Fundraising Committee brought in after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home last August.
Police were on duty around the Lower Manhattan court complex, where Trump is eventually due to appear. However, the grand jury did not meet on Wednesday
Ground crews worked on Trump’s private plane at West Palm Beach International Airport on Wednesday. Photographers watch him as they wait for his flight to New York
Trump brought up the ongoing legal case again on Wednesday. In a social media post, he portrayed himself as a warrior against the radical left, while rival Ron DeSantis gave interviews to British television.
“While I’m fighting radical left-wing lunatics, persecutors and unfair prosecutors out to destroy us all, Ron DeSanctimonious isn’t working for the people of Florida like he should, he’s too busy chatting with a TV host from England , who is being challenged by Ratings , who is desperate to save his failed campaign – but it’s my fault I put him there!’ he posted on Truth Social.
A day earlier, it emerged that DeSantis had sat down for an interview with Piers Morgan, a former Trump aide turned vocal critic of the former president.
In a possible preview of the 2024 Republican primary game, DeSantis spoke at length about what he described as fundamental flaws in his potential presidential rival
The Florida governor told Morgan he believed he could beat President Joe Biden in an election, criticized the chaos in Trump’s administration and said he didn’t care about the former president’s attacks.
“To me, it’s just background noise. I don’t care about arguing with people on social media. It doesn’t do anything for the people I represent,” he said.
He also dismissed Trump’s nickname for him, saying the only thing that fit was “winner” because of his Florida election results.
“If I were to run,” he said of 2024, “I’m running against Biden. As we [him and Trump] possibly competing for the Republican, I understand that, but ultimately you know the guy I’m going to focus on is Biden because I think he’s let the country down.
“I think the country wants a change. I think they want a fresh start and a new direction and so we’re going to make that very clear.’