Trump campaign boasts record-breaking spike in donations after conviction
Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump's campaign said Friday it had raised $35 million in online small-dollar donations after he was convicted in his New York hush money trial, boasting that the verdict had galvanized his support "like never before."
The record-shattering figure amounted to almost double the next best fundraising day for the campaign on WinRed, the official Republican Party donation platform, according to aides.
"Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats with their election interference political witch hunt have awakened the MAGA movement like never before," senior campaign aides Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
"Just minutes after the sham trial verdict was announced, our digital fundraising 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."
The advisors said 30% of the total came from new donors to the platform and hailed an "outpouring of support from patriots across our country."
A jury on Thursday convicted Trump on all 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has a long record of turning scandal to his advantage, and his campaign website began redirecting visitors to a fundraising page declaring he was a "political prisoner" moments after he was convicted.
The page crashed for around an hour within minutes of launching, however, as the surge of supporters overwhelmed WinRed.
"WITCH HUNT! IF THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ME, IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!," Trump posted on his platform Truth Social on Friday.
Cover photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP