(NewsNation) — Legal trouble may turn out to be a campaign boon for former president Donald Trump.
After news of his indictment, Trump experienced a $4 million haul in campaign donations within 24 hours and over $1 million in the second 24 hours, a Trump official told Axios. He also experienced a nearly double-digit bump in most polls.
“The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America,” said Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.
Sen. Graham said supporters will rally behind the former president.
“From a political point of view, it’s going to solidify trump’s standing in the Republican party,” he said.
Trump himself predicted weeks prior that an indictment would boost his poll numbers.
A Quinnipiac University National poll found a majority said criminal charges should disqualify his 2024 run, however, his popularity remained unchanged and led DeSantis by double digits.
- Donald Trump – 47%
- Ron DeSantis – 33%
- Mike Pence – 5%
- Nikki Haley – 4%
— Quinnipiac poll
After Trump was indicted, he polled comfortably ahead of Ron DeSantis and all other Republican challengers.
This mirrors his situation after FBI agents raided his home in Mar-a-Lago and his impeachment, two scandals that didn’t shake his standing in the polls.
But this time it may not be that simple.
John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said a boost for Trump now will likely hurt Republicans when it counts — in the General Election against a Democrat.
“Trump is basically extorting the Republican Party,” Bolton said. “He’s threatening that if he doesn’t get the nomination he’ll blow up the presidential campaign and whoever the democrats nominate will win.”
With multiple indictments hanging around Trump’s neck, Bolton isn’t the only Republican concerned.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who voted to impeach Trump, criticized the Manhattan DA for playing politics but says it’s a problem for Republicans if Trump sucks up all the attention next year.
“It’s going to lead to all kinds of political theater,” Cassidy said “Theater that is going to distract from addressing the issues that are incredibly important to our country right now, that are not about one person.”
In the short term, however, it seems the indictment has sparked a rallying effect and many Republican voters and officials are rushing to the former president’s defense.
