Despite some concerns from within his own party about his performance at Thursday's presidential debate, President Joe Biden's reelection campaign announced a solid fundraising haul in the aftermath of the event.
Biden's reelection campaign said that it raised $14 million on the day of the debate and the morning after. The campaign also noted that it notched its best single hour of fundraising since Biden announced his reelection bid last year in the hour after the debate — 11 p.m. ET-12 p.m. ET.
A campaign official said Thursday that the hour from 6 to 7 p.m. ahead of the presidential debate was the campaign's best grassroots funding hour; before that, the 5 to 6 p.m. hour had set the record, the official added.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign said it raised $8 million on Thursday, a source familiar confirmed to Spectrum News.
Per the Times and The Washington Post, Biden's campaign has more fundraisers planned through the weekend, including a star-studded event in East Hampton, N.Y., featuring actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick and Michael J. Fox on Friday and one on Saturday in New Jersey hosted by Gov. Phil Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy.
The Biden campaign boasted a fundraising edge for months over Trump early on in the election cycle. But at the end of May, Trump’s campaign reported ending the month with more than $116 million cash on hand, above the more than $91 reported by Biden’s campaign. Trump’s campaign saw a surge after he was found guilty last month of 34 felony counts at his New York hush money trial.
Thursday's debate featured Biden and Trump trading barbs and personal insults. Though Trump espoused numerous falsehoods on Thursday night, much of the attention was given to Biden's shaky performance, including a strained voice as he battles a summer cold. Numerous Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, acknowledged that Biden had a slow start at Thursday's debate, though others began to come around on Friday, with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, a powerful House Democrat and ally of Biden's, urging members of his party to "chill out."
Spectrum News' Maddie Gannon and Taylor Popielarz contributed to this report.