Donald Trump, condemned by the courts, is far from isolated but on the political and financial level

Despite his conviction on Thursday in the Stormy Daniels affair, the Republican camp is united behind Donald Trump and money is flowing freely to help him get through his legal troubles.

After having been found guilty 34 times at his criminal trial in New York, Thursday May 30, the former president proclaimed his innocence, took on the role of the victim, of the honest persecuted citizen. One of Donald Trump’s first reflexes was also to turn to his audience by improvising a fundraiser.

A few minutes after the verdict, all his supporters, starting with the wealthiest, received this letter from the Republican candidate in their mailbox: “Friend, is this the end of America ? I was just convicted in a rigged political witch hunt trial : I did not do anything wrong ! (…) But with your support at this moment in history, we will win back the White House and make America great again !” And to conclude this vibrant email, in a footnote, Donald Trump specifies that there are only a few days left before the deadline for his monthly fundraising.

The result was not long in coming. The next day, Friday May 31, his campaign team announced that it had raised $34.8 million from its donors after the verdict. The online prize pool is a classic strategy for this businessman, candidate for the American presidential election, and it works quite well!

Since February, his supporters have raised more than 2 million euros via the participatory platform GoFundMe, to help Donald Trump cover legal costs. It’s a drop in the ocean compared to the 460 million euros that the judges are demanding from him in other trials. But these donations come from voters with modest incomes, 50 euros on average per person, this spontaneous initiative proves above all that the former president’s electoral base is solid.

The Republican candidate is nevertheless supported by small and big wallets alike. On Wall Street, the heart of financial institutions, anti-system Trump can count on Scott Bessent, the boss of an investment fund. He is responsible for leading the Trump Rally, to convince the bigwigs to support the Republican: “Investors are Pavlovian, they are focused on November 5. They are calculating the benefits of a Trump victory and his generally friendly policy towards the markets.”

For the first time in April, the Republican Campaign Committee raised more funds than Joe Biden’s team. The Democratic president nevertheless had, until then, a significantly higher amount: 180 million dollars in revenue, between April 1, 2021 and April 30, 2024, compared to 120 million for Trump. But some Wall Street billionaires are reportedly on the verge of announcing their support for the Republican. His campaign team is hoping for an imminent statement from Bill Ackman, head of several private funds. Steve Schwartzman, CEO of Blackstone, the world’s largest investment fund, is also considering it more and more seriously.

However, many people still have questions and consider it embarrassing to publicly support a candidate convicted by the courts. These financial behemoths are very cautious, very attentive to opinion polls. For them, the one and only imperative remains to be alongside the winner at the finish line.