GOP megadonor Stephen Schwarzman defects from Trump after 2024 announcement
Stephen Schwarzman chairman, CEO and co-founder of private-equity giant Blackstone says in a statement to Axios that he’s defecting from former President Trump for the 2024 presidential race.
Driving the news: “America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday,” Schwarzman says.
- “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.”
Why it matters: This is a major defection by a GOP megadonor who was close to Trump very engaged with him on trade issues and had real pull in the Trump White House.
The big picture: It’s the second GOP megadonor to come out against Trump in two weeks.
- Ken Griffin the billionaire founder of the Citadel hedge fund, who had praised Trump policies endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week.
- Griffin, who moved Citadel’s headquarters to Miami this year, told Bloomberg yesterday that Trump is a “three-time loser.”
Between the lines: Two of the country’s largest and most influential Republican donors are look
via www.axios.com
But Trump does need the money, unless he’s going to spend his own, and he’s far too canny to do that. I hope we’ll get to see whether he’s smart enough to make what passes for him as a graceful exit. The Dems don’t seem smart enough not to cheer his downfall; they should hope Trump does get the nomination. Perhaps they’ll let their spite overcome their cunning, which would be a nice for a change.