Trump's campaign raises millions after arrest, uses mugshot for donations

Former President Donald Trump raised $7.1 million since his arrest in Georgia on Thursday as his campaign sought to capitalize on the mug shot taken at a Fulton County jail, according to a person familiar.

Trump brought in $4.18 million just on Friday, the highest single-day haul of his 2024 presidential campaign effort, the person said. His campaign has taken in nearly $20 million in the last three weeks — a span that covers his two most recent indictments in Washington and Georgia, according to the person, who asked not to be identified speaking on the figures.

Fundraising accelerated after he returned to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 2021, to post his mug shot and a link to a fundraising landing page for his presidential campaign, the person said.

Politico earlier reported the figures. The $7 million raised is roughly a fifth of the more than $35 million he received in the second quarter through the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.

In the days after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on March 30 on charges related to hush-money payments to an adult-film star, the campaign announced it had raised $15.4 million. It also said $6.6 million was raised “in a few short days” after Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump in federal court on 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified materials and conspiring to stymie efforts by US officials to recover them.

Read more: Trump Raises Over $35 Million for Quarter Despite Legal Woes

Trump is the first US president to have a mug shot taken. His campaign is using the image to to sell merchandise, including t-shirts, posters and coffee mugs. In the hours before he turned himself in at the Fulton County jail, his campaign sent out electronic fundraising pitches.

It’s all part of Trump’s effort to use his legal troubles to supercharge his White House comeback bid. He’s been indicted four times in the last five months. So far, the cases have prompted Republicans to rally around him, helping extend his polling lead in the GOP presidential primary.

Trump is leading opponents in the Republican presidential nomination by about 41 percentage points, according to the average of polls tracked by RealClear Politics.

In the coming days, he’s planning to hold fundraisers, participate in print, television, radio and podcast interviews as well as doing telerallies in early primary voting states, according to the person.

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