After former President Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in a New York hush-money trial on Thursday, his campaign claims that the verdict boosted support among grassroots donors.
In a statement released on Friday, Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita, and Susie Wiles, said that the digital fundraising system had been overwhelmed by support. Despite temporary delays due to the volume of traffic online, Trump raised $34.8 millions dollars from small donors.
The campaign claimed that the total raised in one day surpassed the previous campaign record for small dollar donations. LaCivita and Wiles reported that nearly 30% of donors who donated after the verdict were brand new to WinRed, the platform used by Republican candidates to raise money.
The two aides stated that “President Trump, and our campaign, are extremely grateful for this outpouring support from patriots throughout our country.” “President Trump fights to save our country and November 5th will be the day Americans deliver the true verdict,” the two aides said.
Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts on Thursday of falsifying records of business, becoming the first former President to be convicted. The jury of 12 members in the hush-money trial delivered its verdict on Thursday late afternoon after approximately 11 hours of deliberations.
Trump had pleaded guilty to all charges, and denied any wrongdoing in relation to the payments. He also denied that the affair which they were accused of covering up actually happened. He will likely appeal the verdict.
His campaign and its allies were quick in their efforts to convert the outrage at the verdict into an increase in fundraising. On social media, Trump’s campaign aides as well as candidates to be his running mate posted a link to a fundraiser to encourage supporters to donate.
Trump’s WinRed site crashed soon after he had been convicted. His campaign blamed the issue on an influx in donations.
Former President Bush has made a habit out of using his legal troubles to raise money for his campaign. After his Georgia indictment, he used his mugshot to raise millions in campaign money.
Trump’s campaign is millions of dollars behind Biden’s in terms of cash available, but his operation has outraised Biden during the month of April as GOP donors have coalesced around him.
