Donald Trump Mug Shot Success: Here's How Much Former President Raised After Viral Image, What It Means In Race Against DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump is among the leading candidates to win the 2024 presidential election.

With record advertising spending predicted for the highly contentious race among Republican and Democrat candidates, Trump has announced a new fundraising haul to support his race.

What Happened: Trump has been indicted several times in 2023 and faces federal charges and potential imprisonment. For one of Trump’s cases, he was booked and received a mug shot.

The mug shot of Trump was highly anticipated and quickly went viral when it was made public. The Trump campaign was able to quickly monetize the mug shot as a campaign push getting donations and selling merchandise. Trump even made his first post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in more than two years with a post of his mug shot and link to his election campaign.

Trump and his campaign team said they raised $45.5 million during the months of July, August and September. A portion of the large haul came thanks to the viral mug shot.

The former president’s campaign team said they had $37.5 million on hand entering the month of October and nearing the one-year mark to the 2024 presidential election. Of the $37.5 million total, $36 million can be spent on the 2024 Republican primary race.

As shared by The New York Times, the windfall for Trump’s campaign is around triple what Ron DeSantis raised during the same time period. The Florida governor had around $5 million to spend at the start of October, compared to the $15 million he raised in the third quarter.

The Trump campaign has also commented on DeSantis’s campaign total saying that the $15 million and $5 million figures could be a “grave indication that Ron’s candidacy may not live to see the Iowa caucuses in January, or even the end of this month.”

The campaign totals will be official later this month with financials needing to be reported by candidates on a quarterly basis during the 2024 election campaign.

Related Link: Trump On Trial In New York Fraud Case: Why There's No Jury, Mar-A-Lago's $1B Valuation And More

Why It’s Important: Benzinga previously shared that records showed Trump raising $17.7 million in the second quarter, spending $9.1 million and entering the third quarter with $22.5 million.

DeSantis raised $20.1 million in the second quarter, spent $7.9 million and had $12.2 million entering the third quarter.

The new unverified figures from Trump and DeSantis campaigns show that Trump saw his total raise significantly in the third quarter, while DeSantis brought in less during the pivotal time.

This comes as Trump holds a 48-point advantage over DeSantis in the latest Morning Consult poll and has been ahead of his Republican competition for many months.

A report from AdImpat predicted the 2024 election cycle could hit a new record for advertising spending with an estimate of $10.2 billion. This total would be up 13% from the 2020 election and could benefit local and national media companies and social media outlets.

Trump’s dominance over DeSantis and news of the potential fundraising win could also benefit the stock most often associated with the former president.

Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC is in the process of merging with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Assets of TMTG include the Truth Social platform where Trump spends the majority of his time communicating with his followers.

DWAC Price Action: Digital World Acquisition shares are down 0.63% to $15.80 Thursday and have been active in trading this weekend as Trump’s civil fraud lawsuit in New York kicked off Monday.

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Photo: Fulton County Sheriff Office; Shutterstock