The Numbers Are In: Here's How Much Trump Made Off the Mugshot Democrats Insisted Upon
This is probably not the result Democrats were looking for.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has brought in more than $9.4 million since his mugshot was released to the public last week, which Fox News reported means that the current Republican primary front-runner will have brought in more than $20 million in the month of August alone.
All of those fund will be used for Trump’s campaign, not to cover his legal expenses, Fox said.
After Trump turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, his campaign started selling merchandise featuring his now-famous mugshot.
A source told Fox that the sales “spiked” Trump’s fundraising.
According to a breakdown by Fox, Trump’s campaign raised $864,000 from the sale of 24,000 coffee mugs — what better medium for a mugshot, after all — and nearly $2 million on 36,000 T-shirts.
Another $352,000 came in from the sale of 8,600 posters of the already iconic photograph.
The indictment by special counsel Jack Smith for election interference claims — a wholly separate investigation from the Georgia charges — also likely led to increased fundraising numbers this month.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of those charges, and is expected to enter a similar plea in the George racketeering case.
Trump told Fox after his processing in Georgia that local officials had “insisted” on his sitting for the booking photo. He also said he didn’t enjoy the experience.
It was “not a comfortable feeling — especially when you’ve done nothing wrong,” he said in an exclusive interview with Fox after the booking.
Other Republican presidential hopefuls have experienced fundraising surges following last week’s first primary debate, but none could compare with Trump’s reported haul.
Former Vice President Mike Pence raked in $250,000 following the debate, including 1,000 “small-dollar donations,” a spokesman told The Hill.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy did even better, bringing in about $460,000 on the night of the debate and $600,000 more the following day, to top $1 million, the New York Post reported.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign told The Washington Post that it had collected more donations in the 24 hours following the debate than on any other day so far in the campaign, though it did not provide the outlet with a specific number.
And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saw his campaign coffers increase by over $1 million in the 24 hours following last week’s debate in Milwaukee, Fox reported.
No other Republican candidate’s fundraising numbers were immediately available.
However, in the second quarter, President Joe Biden outraised Trump by over 100 percent, according to Federal Elections Commission documents reviewed by The Hill. Biden brought in $72 million compared to Trump’s $35 million.
It will be mid-October before we’ll know how Trump’s indictments, arrests and booking photo may have changed that equation.
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