Two days after Donald Trump announced his 2024 campaign for president, three prominent billionaires have also said they would not support his bid for the White House. One of these is Ronald Lauder, the heir to a prominent cosmetics fortune.
Lauder has known Trump since they were both in college, and he reportedly supported the businessman’s push to purchase Greenland. In recent years, he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans. He also threw his support behind Lee Zeldin, who is running for New York governor.
According to reports by the New York Times and CNBC, Lauder has left the world of Trump supporters. Also, Stephen Schwarzman, a prominent Republican superdonor, has decided not to support Trump’s presidential bid.
According to Schwarzman, America would be better served if its leaders were more focused on the future rather than the past. He made the statement after Trump announced his intention to run for president once more at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In his statement, Schwarzman said that the Republican Party needs a new generation of leaders. He also said that he would support one of the candidates in the upcoming primaries.
The decision by Schwarzman to leave the Trump orbit came after Ken Griffin, a prominent Republican megadonor, announced that he would support Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis if he decides to run for president.
A representative of Lauder would not provide the name of the businessman who would back in 2024, but he noted that he has previously given to DeSantis.
Griffin called Trump a three-time winner who has failed to bring the country together. This was similar to the description given by Chris Christie, who was the governor of New Jersey when Trump was elected.
New York businessman Andy Sabin also said that he would not be supporting Trump’s presidential bid. He gave him around $120,000 during his failed campaign.
According to Axios, Chris Christie blamed Trump for the Republican losses in the 2018 and 2020 elections. He also noted that the president was partly responsible for the failed “red wave” in 2022.
During his announcement speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night, footage showed the crowd trying to leave as Trump was still talking but security wouldn’t allow them to leave early.
In response to the various statements made by prominent individuals, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, released a statement saying that she would not be participating in the presidential campaign.