Last Updated: August 27, 2023, 07:11 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s mug shot in Georgia election case. (Reuters)
Donald Trump’s campaign raises $7.1M through merchandise sales after his booking, leveraging mugshot on items. Fundraising surge amid legal challenges
Donald Trump has raised $7.1 million since he was booked at a jail in the US state of Georgia, according to US-based publication Politico. Soon after the former US President was taken into custody Thursday evening, his election campaign began prodding online donors with emails and text messages to buy shirts, posters, bumper stickers, and beverage coolers bearing Trump’s scowling mugshot. The items bear the tagline “NEVER SURRENDER!” and range in price from $12 to $34.
US media reports said the campaign’s fundraising has been powered by merchandise it has been selling through the online store. On Friday alone, Trump’s campaign raised $4.18 million, making it the single-highest 24-hour period of his campaign to date, according to a person familiar with the totals.
After completing the proceeding in Georgia on Thursday, Donald Trump returned to New Jersey where he sent his first post on X (formerly Twitter) in over two years, guiding supporters to his website. The website’s landing page displays his jailhouse mugshot, urging contributions to “SAVE AMERICA during this dark chapter in our nation’s history.”
“At the notoriously violent jail in Fulton County, Georgia, I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME. The American people know what’s going on. What has taken place is a travesty of justice and ELECTION INTERFERENCE,” the donation appeal on Trump’s read. “But if you can, please make a contribution to evict Crooked Joe Biden from the White House and SAVE AMERICA during this dark chapter in our nation’s history.”
This fundraising surge illustrates how the Republican frontrunner has managed to capitalise on his four indictments to rally his hardcore supporters, converting legal challenges into campaign cash. The campaign claims a nearly $20 million raise in the past three weeks, according to Politico.
At 77, Trump has become the first former US president to confront criminal charges. As he pursues another White House campaign for 2024, these allegations have not diminished his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination. On the contrary, the four filed cases have fortified his position. In the Republican race, he maintains a commanding lead in polling, positioning him to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
In the Georgia case, Trump confronts 13 felony counts, including racketeering—a term often linked to organized crime. He is accused of pressuring state officials to overturn his election defeat and orchestrating an illegitimate panel of electors to undercut the formal congressional validation of Biden’s 2020 win.
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