Trump raises US$7 million for 2024 campaign since federal charges

Former president Donald Trump's 2024 White House campaign said on Wednesday he had raised US$7 million (RM32.40 million) since being indicted on federal charges last week, as his message of political persecution continues to resonate with die-hard supporters.

"President Trump Raises Over US$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 US special counsel investigating him.

Over US$4.5 million came from digital fundraising while US$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 US$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 US$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 US presidential campaign as he looks to outrun his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to recent Reuters reporting.