Trump Rakes In $141 Million In May, Aided By Guilty Verdict
Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $141 million in May, according to his campaign, a fundraising total boosted by a surge in contributions after a New York jury found him guilty in a criminal trial involving hush-money charges.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $141 million in May, according to his campaign, a fundraising total boosted by a surge in contributions after a New York jury found him guilty in a criminal trial involving hush-money charges.
Trump’s tally nearly doubles the $76 million he raised in all of April in another strong showing for the presumptive Republican nominee. Trump outraised President Joe Biden’s monthly total for the first time in April as he ramped up his appeals to big-dollar GOP donors in a bid to narrow the president’s sizable fundraising edge.
Trump received more than two million donations in May with an average contribution of $70.27, the campaign said in a statement Monday. The total is more than Biden and the Democratic National Committee have ever raised in a month.
The campaign must still file their official monthly totals with the Federal Election Commission later this month.
A significant amount of Trump’s fundraising came after his May 30 conviction on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to an adult film actress. The campaign said Trump raised $52.8 million online in the 24 hours after the guilty verdict, highlighting how the former president has used his legal woes to cement his support among Republicans and build up his war chest.
The Trump campaign did not say how much cash it had on hand, but the May sum puts them in a position to potentially close the roughly $100 million fundraising gap they’ve had with the Biden campaign in recent months. The Biden campaign has not yet reported its May fundraising figures. Biden and the Democratic Party raised $51 million in April and began May with $192 million in cash in the bank.
Both Trump and Biden’s campaigns sent out fundraising solicitations immediately after the jury verdict last Thursday. Some of Trump’s biggest fundraising days have fed off his legal troubles. The campaign reported raising $7.1 million after his arrest in Georgia over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He also raised $15.4 million following his indictment on the New York hush-money charges.
Trump’s campaign said 25% of May’s donors were new contributors to his 2024 bid.
In recent weeks, Trump has also won the support of high-profile Republican donors, including billionaire Miriam Adelson and Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman, both of whom had previously withheld support.
Earlier: Billionaire Miriam Adelson Plans to Give Millions to Help Trump
Even though his trial largely sidelined him from the campaign trail, Trump benefitted from a series of big-ticket fundraisers throughout May, and has more such events in the weeks to come. He is expected to attend fundraisers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, California, and New Orleans in June.
(Updates with additional details, background from fifth paragraph)
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