Former United States President Donald Trump's campaign revealed that the Republican businessman could raise more than $35 million in the second quarter despite indictments against him.
The numbers represent the former president doubling his fundraising, indicating that the legal challenges he faces only boost his campaign financially. Trump's joint fundraising committee raked in twice what it said was the $18.8 million it raised during the first quarter of 2023.
Trump's Campaign Fundraising
The former president's joint fundraising committee is divided between two entities; the Republican businessman's official campaign, and his leadership political action committee (PAC), Save America.
Despite the announcement, the committee needed to detail exactly how much more than $35 million went to the former president's campaign and how much went to the PAC. However, based on the most recent fundraising solicitations, 90% of each donation is made to the former, and the latter will get the remaining 10%, as per Politico.
The PAC is responsible for spending on non-campaign activity, which includes paying the former president's legal bills. The massive fund raised by the committee is expected to more than likely further cement Trump's status as the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.
Furthermore, the fund his committee raised underscores that the two indictments he is currently facing, with more possibly coming, are only mobilizing his base of online donors. The average donation to the former president's campaign was $34.20.
The full filing of Trump's campaign is set to be released through the Federal Election Commission later this month. Before that, the former president's campaign did not comment on how much cash he had on his person.
Trump's aides, who spoke under the condition of anonymity so that they could discuss internal deliberations, were the ones that said how big of a percentage of the total fund went to each entity of the campaign, according to the Washington Post.
Former President's Legal Challenges
One adviser from the committee, who revealed the average donation amount, said that it marked the testament to how "grass-roots Republicans overwhelmingly stand with President Trump."
During the first three months of 2023, Trump's campaign raised roughly $14.5 million for his campaign, while another $4.3 million went to his PAC. However, the numbers were still lower than the amount he was able to raise in the first quarter of 2019 when he was building his war chest to run for re-election as president.
The indictments against Trump include one related to his handling of classified documents taken from the White House and stored at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate. Recently, Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is handling the case, has requested the former president to stand trial starting in December.
It alleges that the Republican businessman "endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents." CBS News said that Trump's former aide, Walt Nauta, was named as a co-conspirator in the case.
