Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman Announces Support for Trump, Citing Antisemitism and Country’s Need for Change in Direction
“For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for President. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket.”
Stephen Schwarzman is a Republican, but is a moderate and was not very vocal in his support for Trump during the Republican primaries. Like many people, he thinks the country is on the wrong track and needs a change.
Schwarzman is also Jewish and the shocking rise in antisemitism seems to be playing a hand here as well.
Schwarzman is indeed Jewish, but he hasn't been associated with Jewish causes or spoken out publicly on antisemitism. His kind of charities are the @nypl for instance (hence his name on the main building). This is stunning news. He is centrist and respected. A big win for Trump. https://t.co/fYh82x4qi3
— Gary Weiss (@gary_weiss) May 24, 2024
Axios reports:
Scoop: Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman backs Trump
Stephen A. Schwarzman — chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, the private equity and real estate giant — tells Axios he will support Donald Trump as a “vote for change.”
- Schwarzman said Friday that he plans to donate to Trump and various Republican Senate candidates.
Why it matters: The endorsement gives Trump access to a potent network of Republican donors Schwarzman has cultivated. Trump also could get a new look from some business leaders who have been reluctant to back him.
Schwarzman, a billionaire and lifelong moderate Republican, was one of Trump’s most visible business supporters when he was in the White House.
- But ahead of this year’s GOP primaries, Schwarzman called for “a new generation of leaders.” Schwarzman wound up not backing a primary candidate.
Axios is told Schwarzman’s concern about rising antisemitism sped his decision to re-embrace Trump, along with concerns about President Biden’s policies.
FOX News has more on this:
Billionaire CEO Schwarzman changes course and backs Trump citing rising antisemitism as top concern
Blackstone CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman revealed on Friday that he will be supporting former President Donald Trump in 2024 after previously distancing himself from Trump leading into the GOP primary.
“I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction,” Schwarzman told Fox News Digital in a statement that was first reported by Axios on Friday.
“For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for President. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket.”
Schwarzman, who briefly served as chairman of Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, added that the “dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency.”
Lots of people feel the same way right now.
It’s ironic that Trump once again finds himself in the role of the ‘change’ candidate.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
Blackstone, which has been vilified for years as being anti-Trump in the comments section here on LI, is now a hero, because the leader reverses course and now backs Trump. Go figure. It happens on the Left, and it happens on the Right. There is no difference.
No hero worship in that article, just news. It is news, after all. So objectionable.
The constant griping is your right, but it’s the same out of tune song. Have a different instrument or piece? Otherwise, it’s part of the “no difference” you complain so much about.
There is no point in talking to losers like JR.
What’s to figure? When a person or institution changes political course for legitimate and rational reasons, such an evolution is fairly deemed praiseworthy. The same thing happened to Ronald Reagan, Thomas Sowell and David Horowitz, among other people.
Your cynicism is misplaced and unreasonable.
You’ve no idea what is in his mind.
Who says Schwarzman is changing “political course for legitimate and rational reasons,” when it’s more than likely he’s hedging his bets. Same as he did in 2016. That’s what fund managers do; hedge against risk.
You are attacking a moderate Republican who is backing Trump in order to stop the radicalism of Joe Biden.
That action to me sounds praiseworthy.
Continuing to fight the primary based on class war rhetoric and targeting your own team is idiocy but you do you. As far as I am concerned the primary is over.
He didn’t evolve he revealed who he was backing, someone who I strongly suspect he was backing the moment the primary ended.
Schwartzman was not frozen in ice for months and back to Earth to decide who he is backing now, this was a decision he made a long time ago and he just happened to think now is the best time for his public statement to have an impact.
Nikki Haley also endorsed Trump at (not a coincidence) roughly the same time.
You may be thinking of Blackrock, which is not the same company and mainly not in the same business.
Blackstone is not Black Rock, though it’s easy to see why you’d be confused with the black and the stones and rocks.
What I find interesting is the Trumpers’ sudden embrace of the billionaires they previously pretended to hate (and falsely claimed were globalist, Jeb Bush-Karl Rove puppet masters). Funny how that all changes when these same donors go all-in for Trump. Not a peep about being “bought” or being a tool of WEP or whatever. The hypocrisy is as thick now as it was then (when we pointed out their newly hated billionaires supported Trump in 2016 and 2020; now they love them again. Sigh.).
This is definitely true of Trump fanatics. If he tells them that X is good, they will happily sing the praises of X despite condemning that same thing yesterday.
You mean X like get stuck with a syringe filled with questionable materials?
Not true, I guess you never noticed the booing when President Trump would bring up the warp speed of the vaccine at his rally’s
Needless to say, he doesnt mention it anymore
I am confused with his continued support of the gene therapy
It’s a real sore spot for me annd many many people. and I wish he would explain it.
I hope it’s not anything so simple as his ego not being able to accept what Pence, Fauci, scarf lady , military, all the RINOs, Democrates, media and pharmaceutical companies pulled the wool over his eyes to the determent of the Country
Not true
It’s a constant of both sides. “Ha, your guy defected, now he’s a good guy”. People fall for it every time. Look at Haley, the holiest of holy for the left when she took on Trump, now loathed because she’s endorsed him.
People don’t really care about the minutia policy, heck sometimes policies are written in such a convoluted manner only wonks really know what’s going on, or at least what they think they can put over to further their agenda.
Which is bad, kind of the “Inflation Reduction Act” bad. Hence the team us are winning over team them. Doesn’t matter what is at stake, just which team one happens to support.
Until we reduce government and the massive jobs the politicians have created by probably 75% as a start, the country is at the mercy of the swamp and their interpretation of the schiff congress writes and they interpret however they want.
^^^ This ^^^
Nobody “loves” them, just glad they aren’t using their large sums of money against us and President Trump for a short time.
And yes, Ronnie was bought, something you apparently still have trouble with, the truth about Ronnie
There is a big difference between a candidate sponsored initially by a cabal of billionaires and a candidate who accepts support from billionaires after the nomination is sewn up. In the former, the candidate is sometimes (often?) subject to strong pressure to conform to the views of his money suppliers. The candidate may be beholden to his benefactors for the continued existence of his campaign. For the latter, the billionaire jumps on the train because he agrees with the views of the candidate. There is usually much less of a quid pro quo in the latter case.
I remember it this way. Black Rock thinks blacks rock. Blackstone thinks they are merely stoned.
Not a criticism but lets not forget while Blackstone is not Black Rock, it is nowhere near the power of Blackrock either.
We are still the underdog, but this mans decision to go public is still big news he deserves credit for.
Again not a criticism just a reminder this is not the end of the fight.
I wouldn’t call them a hero or a villain, simply an entity that exists.
They are just doing what’s best for their shareholders and hoping for a restoration of some sanity.
Let’s hope Trump can provide that.
It’s the usual answer. Schwarzman is trying to buy something. It’s nothing more and nothing less. It’s how the world works.
People are fickle as you well know and just who respects the CEO of Blackrock, a company pushing green mandates and ESG on everyone?
Not paying any attention to JR until he apologizes for repeatedly slandering alaskabob for pointing out the fact that the US State Department sent “condolences” to Iran on the death of Raisi.
You may remember because you tended to join in those conversations I very fiercely defended the crusader billionaire who dedicated a lot of his fortune to fighting DEI nationwide from exactly the sort of mindlessness you described during the primary.
I am bringing this up so you understand this is not coming from an I love Trump no matter what perspective, I must confess I did not predict Biden’s support would start cratering on it’s own I thought Trump was so unpopular Biden would win and am most grateful polls now show I was wrong.
You are absolutely wrong in this case. Blackstone backing the anti-DEI side is fantastic news worth celebrating by everyone against woke ideology including Trump supporters.
Schwarzman should have been given help to feel more comfortable with Trump as the nominee after the primary if that was your point yes a lot of online Trump supporters are off putting to moderates, but it is still worth celebrating that he is using his personal influence in the center to encourage voting against Biden/for Trump even if it is true that toxic online culture delayed the announcement.
Same thing I said to Tiki in this thread the primary is over, move on and hope our side wins.
If Trump wins a worst case scenario is he proves incompetent and doesn’t get as much done as I would like but he still gets a lot done and what he gets done is great.
If Biden wins……I highly doubt I need to go over that to you.
Again primary is over we are fighting the general election now.
Trump can actually bring people together because that is his intention and it shows. Except if you have TDS, which exists in too many Democrats, still, while some are beyond all repair.
The question for ALL Democrats is: “Will you accept the results?”
That’s nice, but where was Blackstone four years ago?
Answer: Giving $422,170 to Biden’s campaign. None to Trump.
You mean I. 2020, midterms?
Paraphrasing George Burns in some of his dollars and cents conversations with Gracie, who he called Googie.
“”It’s business, Gosport.”
It is, to these people, business. They lobby, they buy, they influence, and it’s we, the people, who pay.
I lobby by writing my Congressman
I influence by giving to their campaign
Of course, I don’t run a $10 Trillion Hedge Fund and give $400,000 to a political party so I don’t think they listen to me
Lifelong jino fleeing a sinking ship.
He’s a Bill Kristal republican. Cold comfort, that. He willfully and purposefully willed this world into being, and only now, wakes up and realizes that he stands at the edge of a black abyss. F you, pal.
Schwarzman wants to board the life raft – elbowing women and children out of the way – after spending a fk’n lifetime in the first class dining room whooping it up with his soon-to-be guillotine manufacturer-manager pals.
Doesn’t matter, as long as he comes up with a few million to pay Trump’s lawyers.
Heh.
It certainly does matter.
He’ll black Romney’s boots and pour cash into rhino coffers, but not one dime will fall into Kari Lake’s campaign fund or fund “far-right” campaign ads etc. etc., because doing so pits him against the Uniparty/Cindy McCain War Machine.
He’s a slimy collaborationist.
“”He’s a slimy collaborationist.””
You may be right, but that describes a lot of Trump’s “support”. Biden’s too, for that matter.
Collaborationist at what?
““I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction,” Schwarzman told Fox News Digital in a statement that was first reported by Axios on Friday.”
I love that collaboration lets have more of it and say call it an ally, or friend and stop humoring people who want to continue the primary instead.
Don’t look at me. I was riffing off of Tiki’s characterization.
So you are furious at him because he does not contribute money to race he has no legal or moral obligation to be in?
Grow up the primary is over. The only person entitled to Schwarzman’s money is Schwarzman anyway.
If Trump gives his stamp, you will pivot within the hour
You got me confused with you mother.
Naw, I think he has your number. You latch onto anything Trump and are then surprised when he’s not invincible. Trump can’t fix what is wrong, but we are stuck with him until we can elect a competent leader to actually turn this ship around. I’ll take Trump over Biden, but both are bad choices, Trump wants the Democrat media to love him; that’s why he messed up the covid response. He cared about the media, not the American people.
I invite you to consider that a pandemic was perhaps the only area of decision making where Trump had no experience or knowledge whatsoever. I suspect that he mistakenly relied on Fauci and Birx and it cost him re-election.
This country has gone off the rails under Biden who, to quote Nikki Haley, has been a catastrophe. Total inflation under him is about 21%, a real challenge for a whole lot of people. If he gets four more years, the total 8-year number of illegals that will have come in may approach 10% of the population at the end of 2020. Eventually, no community will be exempt from the consequences. I suggest that every reader consider what adding 5-10% to their community’s population in illegals would do to all aspects of community life and finances. Etc, etc.
What? President Trump has always had the American people front and center
Is he perfect? No
But he literally is the.Best President this Country has had in many a lifetime
You’ll get over little Ronnie’s disaster eventually
Therapy may help, choose wisely
Trump brought the rats out of hiding and now we see just how bad the corruption really is. Who do you think is the man or woman to get everything turned around?
I’m afraid I agree with you. But Americans believe in redemption. He can do good things with that money. He needs to start repenting immediately and in a big way.
It seems that even many the GOPe elites have had enough of the Biden/Obama insanity.
This is great, greatly increasing Trump’s base, hopefully sunsetting most of the Dem machine.
“co-founder of Blackstone, the private equity and real estate giant”
How is Blackstone on ESG? DEI?
Or is this just talk the talk?
At this point, I’ll take the support for Trump and his policies
This guy was on team Trump 2016 and worked for him, for how long I don’t know, but didn’t want to dirty his hands if Trump got indicted
Too messy
Now he sees that his family could easily be marched into the chambers by the elites, Muslims and democrats
And he’s changed his mind
He’s willing to put a lot of money into Republican races
God help us all if they are all RINOs
You support this #&*@# weasel, yet viciously oppose the “meatball” with every fiber of your being.
The hell of it all.
Yeah, not a fan of Trumpster bully tactics. At all.
What? Trump bully tactics?
Drinking early I see
And Tiki, this guy wasn’t running against Trump and wasnt governor of Florida , that had early warning when the Feds went in to Mar Lago to take down the President, literally
Meatball could have had his sheriffs refuse to cooperate with the Feds, Could have had them guarding the residence and forewarned the President
He chose not to, possibly he hoped the President was taken out by the FBI
As we have recently found out
So excuse me !
“”Drinking early I see””
Looks like you’re ahead of her.
Nothing in your post has any basis in reality.
If you think the FBI discusses all of it’s raids with the governor or that the governor has legal authority to prevent an FBI raid you are officially a moron.
I wondered where you came up with that old Trumpian campaign lie about DeSantis and the MAL raid. The only reference I could find attributes it to Laura Looney . You should really find better sources.
DeSantis learned the hard way that Trump is formidable, DeSantis was a big fish in a little pond.
Did this guy finally open his eyes and find out that Biden’s economy is shit and Trump’s economy was pretty good?
Nah texvet2
But you may have us all beat
Cheers
Not at all. When it come to repeating tired old lies, you can outdo Biden.
Jb4
President Trump didn’t lose, it was stolen, absolutely stolen
This article is evidence that some people (dare I include assimilated Jews) are able to see the US and the world on fire in front of their own eyes and realize that they must support Trump. Trump needs the support of these people to win. In any case, this article brings good news.