Mega donors, daughter Ivanka abandon Trump at the starting blocks

Washington: Donald Trump has been dealt a blow after announcing his candidacy for the 2024 election, with key donors abandoning the twice-impeached president and leading Republicans distancing themselves from his launch.

One day after Trump declared his rerun for the White House, his biggest potential rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told reporters he had more pressing things to worry about than leadership tensions within the Republican Party.

Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump shakes hands at a rally in 2018. DeSantis is now a potential Trump rival for the White House.Credit: AP

“People need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff, I mean, seriously,” DeSantis said.

“At the end of the day, it’s been a long election, we’ve got the Georgia [Senate election] run-off, but for me it’s like, OK, what more do we need to do to continue to make Florida lead the way? We’re going to be focusing on that.”

The comments come after Republicans narrowly won control of the House of Representatives on Thursday, setting the scene for a divided and hostile Congress, given the Democrats regained control of the Senate.

In another blow, reports emerged that mega donor Stephen Schwarzman, head of the private-equity giant Blackstone, was defecting from Trump’s camp, making him the second big donor, after billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, to do so in as many weeks.

“America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday,” Schwarzman told 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.”

And in another shift overnight, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who was a special adviser to him in his administration, said she would not be part of her father’s latest tilt for the White House.

“I love my father very much. This time around I am choosing to prioritise my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said in a statement posted on Instagram.

Donald Trump stands on stage with former first lady Melania Trump after announcing his third run for president.Credit: AP

“While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”

Trump’s candidacy comes after some Republicans urged him to either stand aside after last week’s poor showing in the midterm elections, or at least delay the news until after the Georgia run-off election on December 6 determines the winner of the final Senate seat.

However, the former president was determined to reassert his authority over the party and fend off any potential rivals, such as DeSantis (who was re-elected in a landslide last week); former vice president Mike Pence (who has said he was giving “prayerful consideration” to running as a candidate); and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo (who has hinted he was weighing up his options).

“We need more seriousness, less noise and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood,” Pompeo tweeted, in an apparent jab at Trump.

Trump made his speech in the ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida before an audience of allies, advisers, fans and leading business figures. Among them was Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who was snapped in the background of a selfie that Trump’s son Eric, with his wife Lara, posted on Instagram.

The hour-long speech was more subdued than Trump’s usual rallies and made little mention of his “stolen election” claims beyond a commitment to overhaul electoral processes if he became president again – something that is ultimately up to individual states under America’s decentralised system.

Long-time Trump adviser Jason Miller, who helped put the finishing touches on the speech, said it was designed to be forward-looking and “take up the fight” to President Joe Biden.

Then US president Donald Trump watches his daughter Ivanka speak at a rally ahead of the 2020 election.Credit: AP

Asked about senior figures distancing themselves from Trump, Miller, the chief executive of social media platform GETTR, replied: “President Trump’s always had a unique ability to reach out and connect directly with voters in a way that the elites and the Washington insiders don’t quite understand.”

The candidacy was also viewed as a calculation, on Trump’s part, to try to inoculate himself from his many legal challenges, which include probes into his role in the US Capitol attack and an investigation into the alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Legal experts say Trump would not be afforded any protection from prosecution simply by running as a candidate. However, in such a polarised partisan climate, Attorney-General Merrick Garland, who was appointed by Biden, may consider setting up a special counsel to handle investigations against Trump, given his shift from ex-president to political opponent.

Gina Rinehart in the background of an Instagram post by Donald Trump’s son Eric and his wife Lara at the former president’s campaign launch.Credit: Instagram

Alan Rozenshtein, a professor of law at the University of Minnesota said Trump’s announcement could also help with his fundraising and campaigning by presenting himself as the victim of a political witch-hunt.

“It allows him to go to his rallies and send out fundraising emails that say, they’re against MAGA so much that they’re willing to prosecute me,” said Rozenshtein, a former Justice Department official.

“Unfortunately, this is just a cost that the Department of Justice is going to have to swallow.”

In terms of campaign financing, Trump has amassed a war chest of about $US100 million ($148 million) through his Save America fundraising arm but will face new restrictions on how he can spend the funds now he is a candidate.

Some of that money was transferred into a separate account prior to his announcement and watchdog groups say the law has numerous loopholes that can be exploited.

Trump also has a massive “small donor” list thanks to his relentless fundraising over the past two years. In the past two days alone, he has sent out dozens of emails asking for money for his campaign.

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