The ex-president has been so focused upon himself that he has not noticed other men nipping at his heels. Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) 43, is one of them. A full 20 percent of the $55 million that the governor has raised came from finance industry donors. The ex only made two percent from Wall Street in 2020.
The most powerful lobbyist in Washington and former Vice-Chair of Trump’s Inaugural Committee, Brian Ballard said this about DeSantis:
‘He has the most impressive national fundraising network, except for President Trump.’
An advisor to Trump’s long-term Silicon Valley allies said, according to CNBC:
‘Big money, sophisticated people are just losing interest in this s— show’
Chairman of Interactive Brokers Thomas Peterffy said his organization gave DeSantis’ political action committee $250,000 last April and said, according to The Bloomberg News:
‘Ron DeSantis is my favorite man. [He] does much more substantial planning. He thinks about how he wants to implement things. He gives himself time to think it through. “The 76-year-old billionaire gave hundreds of thousands to Trump in 2016 and 2017, but he now hopes the twice-impeached one-term president calls it a career rather than seeking re-election again — an opinion he seems to share with other financiers.’
Tallahassee lobbyist authorized by DeSantis to speak about fundraising Nick Iarossi said:
‘I think the Wall Street guys love that Gov. DeSantis has guts and was willing to keep Florida open, to keep the economy going in our state.’
Citadel owner Ken Griffin did not donate to the former president’s PAC in 2020. But last April, he gave $5 million to DeSantis’ PAC. Tudor Management’s owner Paul Tudor Jones II donated $400,000 to it. American billionaire businessman, CEO, and founder of J.W. Childs Associates John Childs gave DeSantis $250,000.
According to CNBC, not only have the big donors still not donated to Trump’s campaign, they have no intention of doing so.
Instead, these big donors have decided to donate to GOP members of Congress or other potential presidential campaigns. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) falls into that group.
The big donors have not been the only ones noticing that Trump’s organization has been careless with their money. Smaller donors also have that reservation.
