For the most part, Trump hasn’t done himself any favors. He became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges and to be indicted. Currently, Donald Trump is in a heap of legal trouble as he faces 91 felony counts in four different states. As Trump’s troubles continue to mount, his fundraising emails raise even more suspicion of foul play for the disgraced politician. 

Recently unearthed emails from his 2020 presidential campaign reveal his aggressive approach to fundraising. According to Federico Finchelstein, a history professor at the New School for Social Research at Eugene Lang College in New York City, Trump seemingly offered “salvation via donation” in the emails.

Trump has no shortage of opponents and critics, and Finchelstein proudly considers himself to be one of them. “If fascism was a totalitarian ideology, movement and regime, Trumpism is that plus a personal business,” he said. “The fascist identification between people, nation and leader mutates in Trumpism. It becomes not only a wannabe fascist project but also a business.”

She insisted that the objective of fascism is “to turn politics into warfare” by harboring “a world of chaos, corruption and hypocrisy.” Depending on who you ask, some would say Trump is guilty of just that. 

In true politician form, Trump pledges his allegiance to his supporters in the emails. “Trump vows to continue to fight on, because his fight is really their fight. His followers should stand with him and give him power so he can keep fighting for them,” said Mercieca.

The billionaire businessman made a career out of making substantial sums of money, but he was faced with financial trouble on the campaign trail. In a desperate plea for cash, Trump pledged to match all contributions up to $2 million. The irony was palpable as a finance report showed that his campaign only had $1.3 million in cash remaining.

In March 2023, his campaign sent out a fundraising email just moments after he was indicted. “The Left thought that they could break us with yet another witch hunt,” said the email. “They thought that by threatening my possible arrest and arraignment, it would force us to end our 2024 campaign. They were sorely mistaken, Friend…”

The email continued, “Today, our incredible MAGA movement stands STRONGER than ever before! No amount of lies, attacks, or phony witch hunts can ever take the life out of a movement that is fueled by more than 74 MILLION American patriots determined to SAVE their country.”

One email encourages supporters to donate in a bid to “OUTRAISE Biden and the radical Democrats.” A united front against the left is the driving force behind most of Trump’s fundraising efforts, with another email telling his supporters, “Together, we will PROVE that the MAGA movement has never been stronger!”

The majority of Trump’s fundraising emails placed blame on the left for its continued attacks on him, while he promised his supporters vengeance in the form of him becoming president once again. Trump’s campaign generated $250 million in donations.

Since his early days on the campaign trail, Trump has sunk to new lows to generate cash to fund his run for the presidency. He even made the ultimate power move by slapping his own mugshot onto merchandise like t-shirts and mugs. If the people will buy it, Trump is selling it. 

Trump’s campaign brought in $24.5 million while Biden’s campaign raised $71 million in the same amount of time. Despite all of Trump’s legal troubles, he remains a force to be reckoned with. He is still the GOP’s leading candidate with 58% of support. If things remain on their current trajectory, the 2024 election could be a redo of the Biden-Trump election of 2020.