Trump Campaign Says It Raised $45.5M in 3 Months

Former President Trump's campaign announced its third-quarter fundraising haul Wednesday, saying it brought in $45.5 million from July through September. The New York Times, which notes the total can't be independently verified until public reports are filed by October 15, calls it an "enormous" sum. It's more than three times the $15 million that the No. 2 Republican presidential contender, Ron DeSantis, said earlier Wednesday his campaign had raised during the same time period. The Trump campaign reported having $37.5 million on hand at the end of September, compared to $5 million for the DeSantis campaign. No other contenders have released third-quarter fundraising numbers yet.

While Trump's numbers were up from his second-quarter haul of $35 million, DeSantis' were down from the $20 million he brought in during the previous quarter, and Fox News reports that the Trump campaign mocked the Florida governor's "exponential" drop in fundraising in the statement announcing Q3 numbers. The statement said DeSantis' figures are "a grave indication that Ron's candidacy may not live to see the Iowa caucuses in January, or even the end of this month." (Of note is that Trump's Georgia mug shot, taken and released publicly after his fourth indictment during the third quarter, brought in a ton of money.)