Lara Trump Claims Donald's Trial Has A Lucrative Impact On His Campaign
The first, though not necessarily the last, criminal trial of Donald Trump has started. Day one of the hush money trial kicked off on April 15 with Donald looking exhausted in court, but it also proved to be quite a fundraising bonanza for his presidential campaign. Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump and recently elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), went on "Fox & Friends" on the second day of Donald's trial and said that on day one, his campaign had raised "a million and a half dollars. [...] The average donation was $28."
This is in line with what Eric Trump said when he was on "Fox & Friends" in early April about the fundraising efforts for his dad's campaign. He didn't see Donald's being stuck in the courtroom instead of on the campaign trail as a hindrance to fundraising, "Every single time he walks into that courtroom, millions and millions of dollars flow in," Eric said.
Donald and the RNC are currently behind President Joe Biden in cash raised, so they may be hoping that this trend of donations tied to Donald's court appearances continues. Though considering Donald's hush money case could last six to eight weeks, people might get maxed out. We'll have to wait and see if the money keeps rolling in.
Donald Trump's previous court appearances drew in even more money
It's true that the legal trouble that Donald Trump's found himself in has resulted in some big paydays for his presidential campaigns, but it sounds like the amounts are going down. His first major criminal court appearance for the ongoing hush money trial was back on April 4, 2023, when he pleaded not guilty. According to Reuters, that same day, he raised $4 million. After Trump surrendered late in the day on August 24, 2023, at Fulton County Jail in Georgia, and became the first U.S. president to have a mugshot, the next 48 hours saw his campaign raise over $7 million.
The fundraising on the first day of Trump's hush money trial may have been aided by an email that was sent out by his campaign team as the court proceedings wrapped up for the day. Maggie Haberman from The New York Times, who Trump allegedly glared at after her reports of him falling asleep in court went viral, wrote, "Trump's campaign sent out a fundraising email falsely claiming he had just stormed out of court."