© Reuters. Former US President Donald Trump gestures as he attends his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, Texas, U.S., on March 25, 2023. REUTERS / Go Nakamura
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by Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s presidential campaign reported on Saturday that it had raised $14.5 million in the first three months of this year, with contributions ramping up sharply after he announced he was about to be criminally charged.
The disclosure to the Federal Election Commission does not cover all of the former president’s political fundraising nor does it disclose full details to online donors.
But the filing shows at least $2.7 million raised from individual donors in the two weeks after March 18, when he announced that a Manhattan grand jury was about to indict him after an investigation into money Trump allegedly paid to a mistress. before the 2016 presidential election. election.
Over the previous two weeks, the disclosure shows the campaign raised just over $1 million from individual donors.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has denied having a sexual encounter with the woman at the center of the investigation and calls the probe a witch hunt by his political enemies. His March 30 indictment made him the first former US president to face criminal charges.
That has energized his supporters and his campaign finances.
The campaign reported spending $3.5 million through March, with about half going to his campaign payroll and travel expenses. At least $7,000 was spent on Trump-owned golf clubs and resorts in South Florida.
Eight in 10 Republicans believe the case against Trump is politically motivated, and his lead over other Republican presidential hopefuls has increased since his impeachment, according to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll this month.
Still, Trump has not won the race for the Republican nomination, and some experts say his legal troubles, which include other potentially more serious investigations, could push Republicans weary of the drama surrounding him to seek another presidential candidate.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a presidential run soon, reported that he had about $85 million in a political fundraising account at the end of March.
To counter the perceived threat from DeSantis, the Super PAC Make America Great Again Inc, which received at least $60 million in funding from one of Trump’s political committees, told regulators Saturday that it plans to spend $1.5 million on ads for television opposing DeSantis.