Donald Trump Raises $5 Million on Day of Mexico Visit, Immigration Speech: Report

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump raised more than $5 million in small donations on Wednesday — the day he visited Mexico and delivered a highly anticipated speech on immigration in Arizona.

The campaign hit its new daily fundraising high as online donations surged during Trump's afternoon news conference with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and once again during his speech on immigration in Phoenix, Trump campaign digital director Brad Parscale told the Wall Street Journal.

However, the two spikes betray a note of irony given the two very different tones Trump took on Wednesday, making it somewhat unclear exactly which of Trump's supporters are attracted to which message.

Following what was understood to be a relatively friendly private sit-down with Peña Nieto, Trump said at a joint press conference that they had set aside the issue of who would pay for the multi-billion, Trump-proposed wall along the Mexico-U.S. border as a way to focus on common issues such as trade and security.

"We did discuss the wall; we didn't discuss payment of the wall," Trump told reporters at a brief press conference alongside Peña Nieto. "That will be for a later date."

While the Mexican president did not dispute the claim while he stood alongside Trump, he shortly thereafter contradicted Trump and posted on social media that Mexico would not pay for the wall.

"At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," Peña Nieto tweeted.

Democratic rival Hillary Clinton took to Twitter to point out that Trump's pride in dealmaking might not be up to par when it comes to international diplomacy.

Clinton campaign chair John Pedestal piled on, saying, "It turns out Trump didn't just choke, he got beat in the room and lied about it."

In Phoenix, Trump responded to Peña Nieto, saying, "Mexico will pay for the wall, believe me — 100 percent — they don’t know it yet, but they will pay for the wall." He added: "They're great people, and great leaders, but they will pay for the wall."

Despite fluctuating support for Trump in recent months because of some missteps following the Republican convention, the campaign has seen an uptick in fundraising.

In the last few months, the Trump campaign has ratcheted up its fundraising efforts with emphasis on small and online donations — a far cry from virtually no fundraising for nearly an entire year.

For July, the campaign announced that $80 million had been raised between fundraising done by the campaign and efforts by the Republican National Committee and state parties — a major uptick that coincided with the Republican convention in Cleveland.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons