Conservative billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein are backing President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to the Financial Times, adding a much-needed boost in financial support for Trump, whose campaign faces a significant cash gap behind President Joe Biden’s fundraising efforts.
Liz and Dick Uihlein, who previously donated to the Republican presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will “back Trump,” Liz told the Financial Times.
Liz said she would likely donate $1.5 million to Trump’s campaign, after she and Dick each donated the same amount to DeSantis.
Though the Uihleins support Trump, the couple has concerns with Trump’s rhetoric, Liz said, suggesting she would never speak to her employees “the way Trump talks to people.”
Trump’s campaign reported $30 million in cash at the end of January compared to Biden’s $56 million.
Liz questioned how donations could help Trump and Biden, suggesting “these two guys are very well-defined,” adding, “I don’t understand why everybody has to give all this money. “
$250 million. That’s how much the Uihleins have donated to federal candidates and political groups since the 2016 election cycle, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets, which tracks politics-based donations. Of this, $50 million was donated to campaign efforts for Republican Darren Bailey, who was endorsed by Trump as a challenger to Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2022.
Liz and Dick Uihlein—who founded the shipping and packaging firm Uline—are each worth an estimated $5.2 billion, according to our latest estimates.
Trump became the de facto Republican nominee this week after winning 14 of the 15 states that voted on Super Tuesday, resulting in former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s remaining challenger for the nomination, dropping out of the race. Trump has vied for donors backing his former challengers, including DeSantis and Haley, though he has warned Haley’s former donors they would be “barred from the MAGA camp” if they didn’t support him sooner, according to the New York Times. Earlier this week, Trump reportedly met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other wealthy Republican donors, though Musk has suggested he would not donate to either Trump or Biden.
Trump also faces a surge in legal fees following a series of court judgments going against him over the last year. Campaign funds can’t be spent on personal expenses, including legal fees, though the Federal Election Commission ruled this doesn’t apply to leadership PACs, like Trump’s Save America. Trump has used some of his PAC money to pay for these fees, which some campaign finance experts suggested was “highly questionable” to Forbes.
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