Donald Trump raised more than $5 million on Wednesday, the same day he met with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and outlined his zero-tolerance immigration policy, his campaign told the Wall Street Journal.
The Republican presidential nominee’s digital director, Brad Parscale, told the Journal that small-dollar donations to Trump’s campaign via his website spiked during his joint news conference with Pena Nieto and his subsequent immigration policy speech in Phoenix.
Trump has touted his fundraising abilities since earlier this summer, when he began attending fundraisers organized by the Republican National Committee and saw a surge in donations totalling $200 or less to his campaign.
According to Parscale, the Trump campaign expanded its fundraising operation in July, when it paid a web-marketing firm in Texas $8 million after spending less than $1 million in June — the same month the candidate was mocked for having raised significantly less than his Democratic opponent and Mitt Romney in 2012.
Trump doubled down on his hardline immigration positions during the speech on Wednesday, only hours after he told reporters that he and Pena Nieto had an “excellent” conversation and would continue to discuss border security and immigration at future meetings.
The two men did not, however, discuss Trump’s plan to have Mexico pay for his proposed border wall if he’s elected president, Trump later noted.
Trump’s campaign and his joint fundraising operation with the RNC posted a total haul of $80 million last month and began the month of August with $74 million cash on hand.
Parscale told the Journal that Wednesday set a new record for how much the campaign has raised through small-dollar contributions in a 24-hour period.
