Donald Trump picked up an influential endorsement on Friday from Steve Schwarzman, founder and CEO of investment management company Blackstone.
The business leader told Axios that he will donate to the Trump campaign and other Republican Senate candidates, showing more formal support than his previous support during the Trump administration. In 2017, Schwarzman chaired Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, and participated alongside 15 other business leaders. Schwarzman has strategically built a network of political donors that Trump may now have access to.
In 2022, Schwarzman chose not to support Trump in the Republican primary, telling Axios, “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.” Schwarzman and other Wall Street executives spoke positively of Trump following the Iowa primary results months ago.
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According to April reports, Biden’s fundraising has slowed to $51 million, while Trump and the RNC reported $76 million. With advertising spending being an important factor in election outcomes, fundraising provides a leading indicator of campaign performance.
Related: Conservative Group Spends $70 Million on Senate Races in Battleground States
In the latest 2024 presidential election poll, Trump leads Biden by 2 points nationally. Averages across recent polls show Trump ahead in key battleground states: he is up 4 percent in Arizona, 5.4 percent in Nevada, 0.1 percent in Wisconsin, 0.5 percent in Michigan, 2.3 percent in Pennsylvania, and 4.8 percent in Georgia. In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, polls underestimated the support for Donald Trump.
Schwarzman co-founded Blackstone in 1985, and the asset management firm has since become one of the largest in the world, managing more than $1 trillion in assets. Their website boasts of more than 12,500 real estate assets and more than 230 portfolio companies. Blackstone made headlines a couple months ago with their purchase of Air Communities, a multifamily apartment conglomerate. (His book What It Takes is one of Patrick Bet-David’s top 24 books for 2024.)
With housing costs putting pressure on average Americans, many have called into question the ability of large corporations like Blackstone to outcompete smaller investors for real estate. Among other advantages, corporations like Blackstone often have significantly better lending options than families or small investors.
While the relationship between Schwarzman and Trump has made twists and turns over the years, the two seem to be working closely to win the White House. It remains to be seen how influential Schwarzman would be if Trump obtains a second term, and what that would mean for the economic policies that affect all Americans.
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