Former President Donald Trump has ramped up his online spending since his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury last month, exploiting his supporters’ outrage over the charges to fundraise and scoop up critical voter data for his 2024 presidential run, according to a report.
Trump, 76, who has surged in the polls since he told his 5 million followers on Truth Social about the looming indictment March 18, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Facebook and Google ads, Axios reported Tuesday.
His campaign says it has raked in $14 million since the indictment was filed March 30, including $4 million in the first 24 hours after the charges by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Trump’s online spending has dwarfed that of both DeSantis, who has yet to formally announce a run, and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who launched her presidential campaign in February.
Between March 19 and April 7, the Trump campaign spent about $258,000 on online ads after only shelling out about $8,000 over the previous three weeks, Axios reported, citing data compiled by political advertising firm Bully Pulpit Interactive.
The ads are geared toward raising funds, mostly through peddling Trump indictment merchandise such as a fake mugshot t-shirt for a $47 contribution.
“Trump continues to invest in his brand of fundraising and merchandising off rage,” Bully Pulpit Interactive partner Mike Schneider told Axios.
The report noted that the spending is coming through Trump’s campaign political action committee and not his social media accounts.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, allowed Trump back on the platforms in January after he had been banned since the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Trump was also allowed back on Google-owned YouTube March 17 after a two-year suspension.
Bragg indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and a $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal weeks before the 2016 election.
Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment April 4 and has blasted Bragg’s investigation as politically motivated and interfering in the 2024 election.