Former U.S. President Trump was convicted in the “Hush Money Case” in New York on Thursday (May 30), angering Republicans. Major conservative donors have pledged to increase funding for the presumed Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
According to Reuters, after the judgment against Trump was announced on Thursday, long-time supporters of Trump as well as Republican donors who had not previously funded him immediately voiced their support. While condemning it as a political persecution, they also promised to generously contribute or invest more funds to help the former president, who has faced many challenges on the campaign trail, to secure re-election in the upcoming election on November 5.
Casino billionaire Miriam Adelson and hotel mogul Robert Bigelow were among the large donors who supported Trump on Thursday. Their donations will be used to support Trump’s new round of campaign ads and door-knocking activities in battleground states.
Bigelow is one of Trump’s biggest supporters, having already donated over $9 million to an external group supporting Trump. Thursday’s guilty verdict stimulated this long-time supporter of Trump, who called the criminal prosecution of Trump a “disgrace.”
The billionaire told Reuters, “I will send another $5 million to President Trump as promised.”
Former electrical company executive and U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica under the Trump administration from 2019 to 2021, Donald Tapia, said he and a small group composed of family and friends planned to donate around $250,000 to support Trump in this election. However, after the jury convicted Trump on Thursday, Tapia told Reuters that their group would provide over $1 million to a pro-Trump spending organization in the coming weeks, stating, “We will support him wholeheartedly.”
Following the verdict, Silicon Valley tech investor Shaun Maguire took to social media to announce that he had previously donated $300,000 to support Trump. “I believe our justice system is being weaponized against him,” Maguire said, adding that he had been a supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton but switched to supporting Trump in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by the Biden administration. He told Reuters that he had not donated to Trump before that.
A source told Reuters on Thursday that Wall Street’s enthusiasm for Trump is also growing. Billionaire and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is considering endorsing Trump.