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Former President Trump headlined a campaign fundraiser just a couple of hours after being found guilty of all 34 felony counts in his New York City criminal trial.
With the verdict in and the trial over, Trump on Thursday evening quickly got back to focusing on his 2024 election rematch with President Biden.
“We’ll be fighting hard,” Trump told Fox News’ Brooke Singman, adding he was excited to get back on the campaign trail.
“We are already back to the mission,” the Trump campaign told Fox News Digital. “President Trump won’t let this sham stop the movement of this campaign to save the nation.”
TRUMP TRIAL VERDICT SENDS THE 2024 ELECTION REMATCH INTO UNCHARTED WATERS
Former President Trump arrives at Trump Tower May 30, 2024, in New York City after being found guilty on 34 counts at his criminal trial. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
Minutes after the verdict was read in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history, Trump’s team put out a fundraising appeal to supporters.
“Friend: Is this the end of America?,” Trump argued in the email. “I was just convicted in a RIGGED political Witch Hunt trial.
“My end-of-month fundraising deadline is just DAYS AWAY!” Trump emphasized in the email, which included a photo of the former president labeling him a “political prisoner.”
WHAT TRUMP TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL FOLLOWING THE VERDICT
WinRed, the GOP online fundraising platform used by Trump’s campaign, among others, briefly shut down within an hour of the verdict.
Former President Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita advised donors encountering a WinRed error message to sign up for Trump’s text messaging list or log back onto the site and try again.
“If you are one of the millions of American Patriots wanting to donate to Donald Trump’s campaign and you get an error message from@WINRED …don’t give up! Log back on and try again ! or Text TRUMP to 88022,” LaCivita wrote in a tweet.
BIDEN CAMPAIGN QUICKLY POUNCES ON TRUMP TRIAL GUILTY VERDICTS
Trump’s campaign website also directed donors to Anedot, another fundraising platform used by various GOP campaigns.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes told Fox News “from just minutes after the verdict, the digital fundraising system has been hit with record numbers of supporters. The traffic is so large that it is causing intermittent delays. The campaign is grateful for this massive outpouring of support because it shows that Americans have seen this sham trial as the political election interference that Biden and Democrats have always intended.”
The former president’s top pollsters put out a memo on the eve of the verdict arguing that a conviction would not have any electoral consequences.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team also fired off a warning shot to the campaigns of down-ballot Republicans not to try and raise money directly off of the former president’s conviction, to prevent the “siphoning” of donations headed to Trump’s coffers.
President Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Girard College May 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris used the rally to launch a nationwide campaign to court Black voters. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Biden’s re-election campaign also quickly sent out fundraising appeals following the verdict.
“Despite a jury finding Donald Trump guilty today, there is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box,” the Biden campaign wrote in a fundraising text to supporters.
And it urged that “if you have been waiting for the perfect time to make your first donation to Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, we’re here to tell you today is the day.”
Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the Republican National Committee for the first time outraised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
While Trump has stepped up his fundraising, the Biden campaign still enjoyed an $84 million to $49 million cash-on-hand advantage at the end of April.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.
