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The power of small donors – Trump’s most powerful weapon in court
As of: 4:57 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
“It could be the most momentous of the three charges against Donald Trump”
Donald Trump faces a court hearing in connection with his supporters’ storming of the Capitol. It is the third indictment against the ex-US President in four months. Reporter Isabell Finzel explains what that means for his presidential campaign.
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Donald Trump has to appear in court again. His Save America fundraiser spends tens of millions of dollars defending him with the help of the best lawyers in the country. Most of the money comes from workers, pensioners and rural dwellers, of all people.
It is the biggest charge Donald Trump has faced to date. After the hush money allegations in New York and the alleged document scandal in the Mar-a-Lago/Florida estate, the ex-president has now been charged at the federal level. The accusation weighs heavily: It is about conspiracy in the context of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The charges against Trump are not only likely to affect the upcoming US election campaign. They also cost a lot of money, after all, the 77-year-old is represented by the country’s star lawyers – partly financed by small donors: they are workers, pensioners, rural residents.
Its main political committee, Save America, spent more than $21 million on legal expenses in the first half of the year alone. This is shown by the current financial reports to the responsible US Electoral Commission (FEC). According to media reports, insiders had previously even spoken of more than 40 million dollars, which are said to have devoured the representation of Trump and his confidants.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Paul Ryan told the Associated Press. The long-time campaign finance lawyer in Washington refers to the large sum that Trump’s committee has spent on legal fees this year. There is no legal problem, Ryan clarifies. “It’s just a question for his donors: do they want to fund lawyers?”
Around 82 percent of donors transferred $200 or less
Trump is particularly dependent on small donors. According to a survey by the US portal Axios, around 82 percent of donors transferred $200 or less. For Trump’s current biggest competitor, Governor Ron DeSantis from Florida, it was just 17 percent.
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Since losing the 2020 presidential election, Save America has been considered Trump’s main arm for fundraising and political spending. “Save America” is a so-called “Political Action Committee”, or PAC for short. Such organizations are there to raise money for campaign purposes. Depending on how they are designed, the PACs are bound by more or less strict legal rules.
However, the high legal fees seem to be getting out of hand for “Save America”, as a comparison shows. With total expenses of just over $30 million ($21 million of which includes legal fees) in the first half of the year, revenues for the same period amounted to just $15.6 million, according to the FEC report. With the PAC sitting on $18 million in cash at the start of the year, it now only has about $3.6 million left.
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To offset the growing legal fees, Trump’s allies have therefore started a new fundraiser. The “Patriot Legal Defense Fund”, as it is called, is to take over the legal costs for Trump confidants in the future.
“The gun-equipped Justice Department and the insane Jack Smith[Special Counsel]are targeting innocent Americans associated with President Trump,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “To combat these heinous acts by Joe Biden’s cronies and save these innocent people from financial ruin, the new Legal Defense Fund will help pay for attorneys’ fees.”
High approval ratings for Trump
Many Republicans seem to follow this narrative – and remain loyal to the ex-president despite the allegations. This is also reflected in current surveys. Among the Republican presidential candidates, Trump has by far the highest approval rating.
Around 58 percent would prefer him to the other candidates, according to a survey by pollsters from Morning Consult. Far behind is Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, with just 15 percent. All other Republican candidates only get single-digit approval ratings.
This is what it looked like on January 6, 2021 in front of the US Capitol
Credit: AFP/ALEX EDELMAN
What is special: the latest charges had no negative effect on support for the ex-president. On the contrary: in mid-February, before the first indictment, Trump and DeSantis were still level.
And so, despite the new charges, Trump can probably continue to hope for donations from his supporters. The ex-president should also need it. Because in Georgia he is soon threatened with the next lawsuit – then because of alleged election interference.
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