Trump campaign says it's raised $7 million since mug shot release
Former President Donald Trump's mug shot appears to have helped his 2024 campaign rake in the cash.
Trump's campaign spokesperson said the former president has raised $7.1 million since his mug shot was released Thursday night after he was booked on 13 felony counts related to an alleged scheme to overturn the results of the presidential election in Georgia.
The spokesperson said the campaign raised $4.18 million on Saturday alone, saying it was their highest-grossing day of the entire campaign.
Politico was first to report the fundraising haul.
The campaign was quick to cash in on the mug shot, with his joint fundraising committee selling merchandise featuring it within two hours after Trump left the jail. Trump also shared the booking photo to X, formerly known as Twitter, with a link to donate. It was the first time Trump has posted on the social media platform in more than two years.
"Organic money has skyrocketed, especially after President Trump tweeted out the picture along with the website," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said the campaign raised "close to $20 million" in the last three weeks, in which Trump was also indicted on separate charges in connection with his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is running against Trump for the GOP presidential nomination and was one only two candidates who said at the Wednesday debate to refuse to support the former president if he is convicted of a crime, said voters are being ripped off by donating to the former president.
"There's almost nothing anymore that he could do that would surprise me in terms of the ongoing grift," Christie told "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "Donald Trump maybe should sell one of his golf courses, or maybe sell his apartment at Trump Tower to fund [his legal fees]. But instead, he's taking people who donate an average of $100 to him to try to get him to become president of the United States again, and he's using that money to pay his legal fees. It's unethical, it's immoral."