When one listens to Donald Trump, goes to his campaign website or looks at his digital store, he sees that his court cases are taking over his fundraising strategy. His mugshot photo taken last summer at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia can be found on T-shirts, hoodies, mugs or stickers. And the ex-president’s phrase “They don’t go for me. They’re going for you, I’m just an obstacle” heads the message asking for political donations.
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In fact, the 91 charges in the four criminal cases he is facing have helped him not only get money for his campaign but also stun his opponents in the Republican primaries. The mug shot that would have sunk any other politician brought in $4.2 million in donations in a single day, and was the start of a strategy by his team to make a profit on every impeachment he faced during the following months.
188
million dollars raised by the former president’s campaign in 2023
Thus, Trump and various groups that support him collected $188 million last year, but this impressive number has its cross: during the same period more than 55 million was spent on legal bills. These costs will continue to grow in the coming months as he faces both criminal charges – for his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 events at the Capitol, the illegal possession of classified documents or the alleged bribery of a porn actress – as a defamation verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million, and a civil fraud lawsuit that could be very damaging to his company.
All this has not prevented Trump from being one step away from obtaining the Republican nomination for the White House. His only opponent, Nikki Haley, however, is reluctant to throw in the towel and this week has continued her increasingly devastating attacks on the former US president: “You can’t beat Joe Biden if he spends all his time and money in judgments and chaos”. Biden’s campaign has $46 million in cash, while Trump’s has $33 million, according to the latest data from the Federal Election Commission. The difference is no less overwhelming, but in a campaign that is expected to be very tight, everything counts.
The former Republican president has other cards in his favor to offset these high legal costs. The Republican base remains very loyal to him, the polls are favorable to him, and the delays in his court cases reduce the chances that he will be a convicted felon on Election Day next November. It is increasingly plausible that the voters will be the ones to give the final verdict. This is the goal of Trump, who is convinced to obtain a victory that will not only mean his return to the White House but also the end of his judicial headaches.
2024-02-03 18:09:59
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