Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign raised a record $3.8 million during the 10 p.m. Eastern hour on Tuesday night as the former vice president faced off against President Trump in the first 2020 debate.
Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told reporters that “Joe Biden spoke directly to the American people tonight and they are responding."
She said the campaign broke the single-hour record for a campaign on Act Blue, which is the pro-Democratic online fundraising site. The time period included the last half hour of the debate airing from Cleveland, Ohio.
The former vice president has seen a big boost in campaign fundraising in recent months. Biden had a campaign cash advantage over Trump to start the month of September.
The Biden campaign confirmed on Sept. 20 that Democrats’ joint financial operation had $466 million cash on hand to begin September; Trump and the GOP had only $325 million. Biden and the Democratic National Committee had earlier reported raising almost $365 million in August, outpacing Trump and the Republican National Committee by more than $150 million.
Tuesday night's debate was a chaotic affair filled with name-calling, taunts and insults hurled between the two nominees. The two men frequently talked over each other with Trump interrupting, nearly shouting, so often that Biden eventually snapped at him, “Will you shut up, man?”
Despite some calling for the next two debates to be canceled, Bedingfield told reporters Biden plans to participate in the next two debates against the president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.