Trump campaign hauls in $1.5 million amid indictment fervor

Within three days of former President Donald Trump’s enigmatic warning that he will be arrested on Tuesday, his campaign raised over $1.5 million in grassroots fundraising.

However, the arrest never materialized. Despite uproar over the possibility of an indictment against Trump, his 2024 campaign has been sending fundraising emails to supporters in hopes of capitalizing on his mounting legal issues. Trump’s campaign acknowledged the $1.5 million boost to Fox News.

Shortly after his “arrest on Tuesday” post, in which he also urged his followers to “protest, take our nation back,” Trump followed up with a request for donations.

“If you are doing poorly, as so many of you are, do not send anything. If you are doing well, which was made possible through the great policies of the Trump Administration, send your contribution,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

His team has also used the possibility of indictment as the subject of fundraising emails sent to supporters. One recent email promised a “1,500% impact” on donations.

“Barricades are being set up around Manhattan Criminal Court — as our nation awaits an announcement on whether President Donald J. Trump will be INDICTED despite having committed NO CRIME,” one fundraising email read.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is considering charges against Trump for a hush money payment made to porn star Stephanie Gregory Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, during the final stages of the 2016 election. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, sent the payment via a shell company to procure Clifford’s signature on a nondisclosure agreement to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Bragg’s team may combine a misdemeanor for falsifying business records with a campaign finance violation, according to multiple reports.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, has considered ways to increase the drama of his arrest, including suggesting that he be handcuffed during his appearance and remarking that he would win a second term if he were to be shot, according to sources cited by the Guardian.

Trump’s fundraising prowess has enabled his campaign to capitalize on past scandals, such as the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago last summer.

Bragg’s office instructed the special grand jury assigned to the case to stay home on Wednesday, per NBC. The panel meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. While an indictment of a sitting president is unprecedented, he would not be the first to be arrested. Former President Ulysses S. Grant was arrested in 1872 for speeding.

The Washington Examiner sought comment from the Trump campaign, but received no reply.