Trump-Biden debate a fundraising boon as both candidates rake in millions
President Biden and former President Donald Trump both bolstered their campaign war chests Thursday, raking in millions of dollars in donations around the time of their first debate.
The Biden campaign on Friday touted $14 million raised on debate day and the morning after, noting that it saw its single best hour of fundraising – between 11 p.m. and midnight – since the president announced his run for re-election last April.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team said it brought in $8 million on Thursday alone, with a campaign official telling The Post that the hefty sum came in a 12-hour period.
Trump, 78, was overwhelmingly seen as the winner of the first presidential debate and is coming off a record-breaking fundraising month in which he significantly outraised Biden – to the tune of $141 million in May.
Biden, 81, raised alarms among Democrats and donors after his unsteady debate performance, which was marked by freezing, verbal missteps and incoherent responses to several questions.
Follow the latest on Trump and Biden’s 2024 debate:
- Biden’s candidacy in doubt after weak, frozen debate performance against Trump leaves Dems in ‘aggressive panic’
- Kamala Harris says Biden had ‘slow start’ but ‘strong finish’ in debate after Anderson Cooper pressed her on Dem ‘panic’
- Is Biden sick? Prez’s voice sounds raspy during debate against Trump
- We just witnessed the end of Joe Biden’s presidency
His campaign entered the month with $212 million in cash on hand after bringing in $85 million in May.
A poll of more than 1,000 voters commissioned by The Post, conducted by Leger, found that 49% believed that Trump emerged victorious after the debate, 45% said neither candidate won and only 17% felt Biden was the winner.
The president has said he remains committed to staying in the race and, according to a CNN report, he intends to square off against Trump again in the second scheduled debate, in September.
