A host of major GOP donors pledged millions of dollars in support for former President Donald Trump after he was found guilty Thursday on all 34 counts in his Manhattan business records trial.
Many conservative donors already viewed the New York case as less about justice than political by design, echoing the Republican presidential candidate’s view Democrats want to discredit and weaken him ahead of the Nov. 5 election against Democratic President Joe Biden.
Reuters reports those donors are more than happy to put their money where their beliefs are and offer financial support to Trump ahead of his resumption of time on the 2024 campaign trail.
The outlet pointed to mega donors including casino billionaire Miriam Adelson and hotelier Robert Bigelow as having lined up behind Trump, with their donations set to bolster a wave of pro-Trump ads, door-knocking, and phone banking in battleground states.
Reuters further added, “the verdict also spurred some longtime Trump donors to boost their financial support for Trump – and, in at least one case, make a big donation to him for the first time.”
Robert Bigelow, amongst Trump’s top supporters having already given over $9 million to an outside group supporting him, said criminal proceedings against the former president were a “disgrace.”
“I’m sending President Trump another $5 million as I promised him,” the Republican megadonor told Reuters.
Upbeat Silicon Valley tech investor, Shaun Maguire, posted on social media site X after the verdict that he had donated $300,000 to support Trump.
Don Tapia, a former Trump ambassador to Jamaica, confirmed to the outlet he and a small network of family and friends with whom he donates had planned to give around $250,000 this election to support Trump.
After Thursday’s conviction, Tapia told Reuters his group hasn’t wavered and would aim to give over $1 million to the pro-Trump spending group MAGA Inc. in coming weeks.
“We’re going to go all-in for him,” said Tapia. He sent Reuters a photo of an American flag flying upside down outside his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona to protest the verdict.
