Donald Trump has been cashing in on his new title of convicted felon.
Rolling Stone reported earlier this week that the former president’s team expected a guilty verdict in the hush-money trial and were preparing a fundraising blitz as soon as the jury handed down a decision. The blitz came just minutes after Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records with which he was charged, and on Friday morning, his campaign announced they had raised a whopping $34.8 from small-dollar donations following the verdict.
“From just minutes after the sham trial verdict was announced, our digital fund-raising system was overwhelmed with support, and despite temporary delays online because of the amount of traffic, President Trump raised $34.8 million dollars from small-dollar donors,” Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, senior advisers on the Trump campaign, said in a statement. “President Trump and our campaign are immensely grateful from this outpouring of support from patriots across our country.”
It wasn’t just Trump. The National Republican Senatorial Committee says Thursday was its highest fundraising day ever, with donations tripling after the verdict came in, giving them $360,000 on the day. The National Republican Congressional Committee said it raised $300,000, it’s best fundraising day of the cycle, almost doubling the $175,000 that they raised the day Mike Johnson was elected House Speaker.
The totals are chump change compared to the $34.8 million Trump’s campaign says it raised, and that’s just from small-dollar donors. Hours after the jury convicted Trump, Cuban billionaire Pepe Fanjul hosted a fundraising for Trump in New York City, with Steve Schwartzman, the billionaire Blackstone CEO, attending, according to Politico. Meanwhile, Shaun Maguire, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, wrote on X that the conviction inspired him to donate $300,000 to Trump. “Fairness is one of my guiding principles in life and simply, these cases haven’t been fair for Trump,” he wrote in a lengthy screed in which he said he believes the 2020 election was manipulated.
The world’s richest man also expressed his at the conviction, although it’s unclear if he’s throwing any money toward Trump’s campaign. “Indeed, great damage was done today to the public’s faith in the American legal system,” Elon Musk wrote on X. “If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter – motivated by politics, rather than justice – then anyone is at risk of a similar fate.”
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Musk and Trump have grown cozy in recent months, noting that Trump is considering making Musk a White House adviser if he wins in November. Matthew Belloni of Puck News reported on Friday that X will soon host a town hall with Trump. It’s unclear whether Musk is giving financial support to Trump’s campaign.
Trump’s campaign is scoring a sizable cash influx as a result of his conviction, but it’s unclear what role his criminal status will ultimately have on the election. Regardless, the wealthiest Americans are shaken that the nation’s justice system dared to come after one of their own.
The Terrifying New Era of American Imperialism