Trump raises $7 million for 2024 campaign since federal indictment

[June 15, 2023]  (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump's 2024 White House campaign said on Wednesday he had raised $7 million since being indicted on federal charges last week, as his message of political persecution continues to resonate with die-hard supporters.   

Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an event following his arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky

"President Trump Raises Over $6.6 Million and Counting Since Deranged Jack Smith Announced Political Prosecution," Trump's campaign wrote in an email to supporters on Wednesday, referring to the U.S. special counsel investigating him.

Over $4.5 million came from digital fundraising while $2.1 million was raised from a donor event on Tuesday at Trump's Bedminster Club in New Jersey.

A spokesman for Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, later emailed Reuters stating that fundraising had passed the bar of $7 million since the indictment was announced on Thursday.

In the indictment, Trump was accused of illegally retaining classified government documents after leaving the White House and then conspiring to obstruct a federal probe of the matter.

Trump was arraigned on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to all 37 counts in court.

He has sought to frame the charges as a Democratic-led attack to knock him out of the 2024 race - and one ultimately designed to hurt Republicans, 30% of whom are considered unwavering Trump supporters.

"They're not coming after me, they're coming after YOU," Trump wrote in one of a flurry of fundraising emails on Wednesday.

Polling suggests Trump's strategy is working: A vast majority of Republicans - some 81% - believe the charges are politically motivated, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday.

Trump also enjoyed a fundraising bump from charges in New York as part of a case involving hush money paid to a porn star. After word emerged in March that Trump was going to be charged, his campaign raised $7 million in three days, according to senior adviser Jason Miller.

A group allied with Trump's bid for the Republican nomination is setting records for outside political spending early in a U.S. presidential campaign as he looks to outrun his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to recent Reuters reporting.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman)

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