Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York City on 31 May 2024. (Kena Betancur / AFP)
- In May, Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $141m,
a significant portion of which followed his conviction in a hush money trial. - The campaign received over $53m in donations just 24 hours after the
verdict. - The fundraising success significantly boosts Trump’s re-election
campaign while Joe Biden’s DNC has not yet reported May figures.
Former United States President
Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $141m in May,
campaign officials have said, a haul apparently boosted by his conviction in
his hush money trial.
Trump’s
campaign said in a press release on Monday that $53m – more than a third of the
total – was contributed in the 24 hours after a New York jury found him
guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the
first current or former president in US history to be convicted of a crime.
The
tally – which Trump’s team announced before being required to under campaign
finance rules and is yet to be confirmed by official filings – is nearly double
the $76m fundraising total announced for April.
The
presumptive Republican nominee’s team said the enormous haul was driven by more
than 2 million donations averaging $70.27, with one-quarter of donors
contributing to Trump’s re-election bid against US President Joe Biden for the
first time.
Trump’s
campaign said the haul reflected an outpouring of support for the former
president over a verdict that had “outraged and motivated Americans from
every walk of life”.
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“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 5 November,”
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chairman Lara Trump said in a statement.
Trump
and his team have repeatedly cast the New York prosecution as a political witch
hunt orchestrated by Biden, despite there being no evidence that the president
had any involvement in the case, which fell under state, not federal,
jurisdiction.
The
massive haul continues an improvement in Trump’s fundraising efforts, after his
campaign out-raised Biden for the first time in April.
Biden
and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which have yet to report
contributions for May, reported about $51m in contributions in April.
Biden’s
campaign raised more than $180m in the 15 months up to 30 April 2024, compared
with about $120m for the Trump campaign over the same period, according to
Federal Election Commission data.
Biden
and the DNC reported more than $51m in contributions in April.
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