The big moneymen are abandoning Donald Trump, but who can blame them? Even the ex-president appeared bored with his 2024 presidential announcement speech at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. And attendees backed up at the exits unable to leave.
The big leaguers wanted “fresh faces” to replace the legislative octogenarians plus soon-to-be octogenarians. And this brief period of time has become one of those rare windows where the GOP might toss the previous president from the party. But will they take this opportunity?
Of course, Trump can still beat up his elderly supporters with a torrent of donation letters and manage to scrape money from these constituents’ meager Social Security checks. But according to The Huffington Post:
‘[Republicans want leaders who] are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday.’
Top moneymen Ken Griffin, Ronald Lauder, Thomas Peterffy, Andy Sabin, and Steve Schwarzman have nearly all indicated that they intend to abandon Trump financially in 2024. Griffin donated well over $100 million in the 2022 races. But the money primarily went to GOP state and federal campaigns.
And there was also the powerful hedge fund magnet and Citadel CEO Ken Griffen Griffin. The billionaire explained to The Politico that he also supported DeSantis:
‘[Trump] did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas. And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.’
The Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder has not decided to help out Trump’s campaign. A spokesperson for the billionaire talked to CNBC and confirmed that Lauder has already given DeSantis money. At this point in time, the wealthy donor has not revealed his choice for 2024.
The billionaire founder of Interactive Brokers Group Inc. Thomas Peterffy planned on giving Trump his vote should the ex-president capture the Republican nomination. And he would like to see that happen. But this entrepreneur spoke to The Bloomberg News with grim news:
‘I think we need a fresh face. The problem with Trump is he has so many negatives, he can’t get elected, period.’
New York’s manufacturing king Andy Sabin will be backing Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) should the Floridian governor enter the presidential foray, according to CNBC:
‘I’m not going to give (Trump) a fucking nickel. At the end of the day, people stayed away (in the 2022 midterms) because of Trump. [Trump] endorsed candidates who were not necessarily qualified unless they said “‘I love you, Donald.”‘
And then there was the Chair and CEO of The Blackstone Group Steve Schwarzman. He has pulled all funds for the 45th president in Trump’s third attempt to win the presidency. Schwarzman said that would last at least throughout the GOP primaries.
Schwarzman has not publicly revealed who he would support in the 2024 elections. And he released a statement to CNBC that read:
‘America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday, It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries.’
It will be interesting to see the money flowing down the volcano that is Donald Trump — or not.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
Christie writes Gloria Christie Reports & Three White Lions Substack newsletters and a Three White Lions podcast available on Apple, Spotify, etc. She is a political journalist for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress). Find her here on Facebook. Or at Three White Lions her book on Amazon Kindle Vella and the Gloria Christie Three White Lions podcast on Apple, Spotify, etc.
