Donald Trump was declared guilty after a gruelling seven-week Hush Money trial, making him the first former US president to be criminally convicted. As he continues his bid for the 2024 presidential election, the question in everyone’s mind: Now what? Where does public sentiment lie? Is it with the current POTUS, Joe Biden, or with the embattled former president, Trump? Following the guilty verdict, Trump’s campaign donation page saw an overwhelming surge in traffic, causing a temporary crash. This unforeseen surge in favour, clear when the trial was at its highest, has now converted into an opportunity.
Trump Donation page crashes
“So many Americans were moved to donate to President Trump’s campaign that the WinRed pages went down,” Trump’s campaign page posted on its social media handle. Surprisingly, the update arrived less than an hour after the likely Republican candidate for president was found guilty on 34 felony charges.
Following the jury’s verdict of guilt, the Trump campaign in a heartbeat issued a fundraising appeal on Truth Social. “I’M A POLITICAL PRISONER! I was just convicted in a RIGGED political Witch Hunt trial: I DID NOTHING WRONG!” the Trump National Committee Joint Fundraising Committee posted an update. “So I need 10 MILLION TRUE MAGA PATRIOTS to chip in and proudly shout: I STAND WITH TRUMP!” It further read.
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‘Trump’s conviction’s support impact debated’
At first look, experts believed that Trump’s conviction might diminish his popularity and could take a toll on his candidature for upcoming elections. However, as per abc news, survey conducted in April by CNN/SSRS revealed that 76% of Trump’s backers would remain loyal, 24% might think twice about supporting him if he faced legal consequences. Another poll in May from Emerson College indicated that 25% of voters would be more inclined to vote against Trump following a guilty decision in New York.
Chris LaCivita, the former President’s adviser, thinks that the crash was indeed a very good sign and it shows, “millions of American patriots wanting to donate to Donald Trump’s campaign.”
Trump continues his political campaign
Despite the barrage of controversies and numerous polls and opinions about how the recent guilty verdict will affect Trump’s run, he seems quite unbothered as he continues his schedule. After raising a massive $800k donation, his campaign surrogate and former Long Island congressman believe they have “no trouble raising money for the former president following the historic verdict.” Trump also participated in a campaign event that was already planned for a private home in New York on Thursday evening.
