Former President Donald Trump raised a total of $18.8 million through his joint fundraising committee and his campaign in the first quarter of 2023, according to new figures provided by his campaign. Donations increased after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30.
According to CNN, the campaign also raised $15,4 million in the two weeks following the filing of charges against the former president, demonstrating how his supporters have rallied around him since learning of the indictment.
The Trump campaign stated that his legal issues have benefited him politically and financially – at least in the short term – and have energised his base as he continues to campaign for his third attempt at the presidency.
Trump’s campaign stated on March 31 that it had raised $4 million in the 24 hours following the announcement of his indictment. The former president has entered a not guilty plea to 34 felony allegations of falsifying business records.
According to the numbers disclosed by his campaign, Trump received a total of 541,971 contributions between January 1 and March 31. The average contribution was about $34.
Comparatively, Trump received 312,564 contributions in the two weeks beginning on March 30 following the filing of charges against the former president, with the average contribution amounting to approximately $49.
Prior to the indictment, the former president’s daily income between January 1 and March 30 was approximately $168,000. Uncertain is whether the lift Trump’s campaign claims to have received since his indictment will persist into the second quarter.
Both the former president’s campaign and his political action committee, Save America PAC, have been raising funds for his 2024 presidential campaign. The Trump campaign reported spending $3.5 million in the first quarter and having $13.9 million in cash on hand as of March 31.
Trump’s first-quarter fundraising numbers trail the $30 million he raised during the first quarter of the 2020 election cycle, when he was still president.
Rival hauls
Nikki Haley, a former United Nations ambassador and ex-governor of South Carolina, is among the other Republicans who have announced their candidatures for 2024. According to her campaign, she has raised $11 million in the six weeks since she launched her candidature on February 15. According to her campaign, she had $7.8 million in the bank at the end of March.
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who announced a presidential exploratory committee on Wednesday following the end of the first quarter, reported on March 31 that he had nearly $22 million remaining in his Senate campaign account. Scott could transmit these funds directly to his presidential campaign account.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who proclaimed his candidature for the Republican nomination in February, loaned his campaign $10.25 million as of March 31 and raised approximately $1.2 million from donors. As of the end of the quarter, he had nearly $9.4 million in cash on hand, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Through his state-level fundraising committee, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for president in 2024, has amassed a significant war chest. Recent state records indicate that Friends of Ron DeSantis has more than $85 million remaining in its coffers.
This money cannot be used for his presidential campaign, but it could potentially be transferred to another committee supporting his candidature.
Already, a super PAC supporting DeSantis, Never Back Down, announced that it had raised $30 million by the beginning of April. The group recently launched what its organisers claim will be a seven-figure advertising campaign highlighting DeSantis’ biography and record as governor of Florida.
Saturday evening, his presidential campaign committee will file its first-quarter report with the FEC, revealing additional information about Trump’s fundraising and expenditures. Several months will pass before the details of Trump’s fundraising after the first quarter concluded on March 31 are disclosed to regulators.
The former president submitted his personal financial disclosure report to the FEC on Friday, providing the public with its first glimpse at his post-presidential finances. The 101-page report revealed new information about Trump’s finances since he left office, including his social media business venture and the sale of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, last year.
Politico was the first to report Trump’s fundraising totals for the first quarter.
