Donald Trump’s legal battles have become the biggest cost for his election campaign as well as the greatest motivator for his grassroots supporters to donate, according to federal filings released late on Wednesday.
The former US president received his biggest influx of small donations on August 25, after he surrendered to authorities in Atlanta on felony charges that he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. His mugshot was released to the public, and the Trump campaign put the photo on T-shirts and mugs.
About 85,000 contributions were made, roughly 10 times more than Trump groups receive on a typical day, bringing in almost $4.3mn. Fundraising has also surged after news of each of the four criminal cases prosecutors brought against the former president last year.