A House Democrat who previously mounted a primary challenge to President Biden called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to pardon former President Donald Trump for “the good of the country,” insisting that his conviction is only helping the campaign of the presumptive Republican candidate.
“Donald Trump is a liar, a cheater and a serial womanizer, a six-time corporate bankrupt, an instigator of insurrection and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim,” the representative said. Dean Phillips, Democrat of Minnesota. , wrote in a post to X on Friday. “@GovKathyHochul should forgive him for the good of the country.”
In a follow-up social media post on Saturday, Phillips wrote: “Do you think forgiving is stupid? Making him a martyr for a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are completely different).”
“He is energizing his base, generating record amounts of campaign money and will likely result in an electoral boost,” Phillips added.
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Phillips’ comments about the “record” fundraising came after the Trump campaign announced Friday night that it had raised nearly $53 million in the 24 hours after Trump was found guilty on all 34 charges. of serious crimes at his criminal trial in New York City.
The campaign, as reported by Fox News Digital, had previously announced that it had raised $34.8 million in fundraising from 6 p.m. ET to midnight Thursday, immediately after the court verdict was made public. case.
The campaign touted that the fundraising was “nearly double the biggest day ever recorded for the Trump campaign on the WinRed platform” and emphasized that the guilty verdicts “have sparked the MAGA movement like never before.”
Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Phillips’ request for forgiveness.
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“I think the New York cases, if anything, may have been counterproductive for those who thought they would be the salvation. But I don’t think the New York cases are exactly what the Democrats hoped they would be,” Phillips told Manu from CNN. Raju.
Phillips launched an unsuccessful primary challenge against Biden in October. He dropped out of the race in March, saying “it’s clear that Joe Biden is OUR candidate and OUR opportunity to demonstrate what kind of country the United States is and intends to be.”
“I ask you to join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything possible to help keep a decent, upright man in the White House. That’s Joe Biden,” he added at the time.
Trump has attempted to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the Republican National Committee surpassed Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for the first time.
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While Trump has stepped up his fundraising, The Biden campaign still enjoyed a cash-on-hand advantage of between $84 million and $49 million at the end of April.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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