ONE OF THE few advantages Joe Biden's campaign possessed at the outset of the year was money. The president had built a fundraising base as an incumbent, and many wealthy Republicans were estranged from Donald Trump over his coup attempt and their support for his ill-fated primary rivals. This spring, even though the battle lines of the presidential campaign have barely budged on the surface, that financial advantage has melted away as conservative billionaires have flocked to Trump's side.
When describing their reasoning, several of the donors have offered up the peculiar rationale that left-wing protesters have gone so far in their attacks against Biden's support for Israel that they somehow feel compelled to also oppose the president. "Due to a dramatic change in circumstances," said financier Eric Levine in March, describing progressive protests against Biden, "I have decided I will vote for Trump in November." Recently, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman explained his reversal in similar terms: "The dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency."
The eagerness of billionaires to support a candidate who is also a billionaire and is promising to extend tax cuts for billionaires isn't exactly dramatic. What is notable is how brazenly this alliance has been consummated without dispelling Trump's image as the enemy of the well-to-do and champion of the common man.
This story is from the June 03 - 15, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 03 - 15, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Enchanting and Exhausting
Wicked makes a charming but bloated film.
Nicole Kidman Lets Loose
She's having a grand old time playing wealthy matriarchs on the verge of blowing their lives up.
How Mike Myers Makes His Own Reality
Directing him in Austin Powers taught me what it means to be really, truly funny.
The Art of Surrender
Four decades into his career, Willem Dafoe is more curious about his craft than ever.
The Big Macher Restaurant Is Back
ON A WARM NIGHT in October, a red carpet ran down a length of East 26th Street.
Showing Its Age
Borgo displays a confidence that can he only from experience.
Keeping It Simple on Lower Fifth
Jack Ceglic and Manuel Fernandez-Casteleiro's apartment is full of stories but not distractions.
REASON TO LOVE NEW YORK
THERE'S NOT MUCH in New York that has staying power. Every other day, a new scandal outscandals whatever we were just scandalized by; every few years, a hotter, scarier downtown set emerges; the yoga studio up the block from your apartment that used to be a coffee shop has now become a hybrid drug front and yarn store.
Disunion: Ingrid Rojas Contreras
A Rift in the Family My in-laws gave me a book by a eugenicist. Our relationship is over.
Gwen Whiting
Two years after a mass recall and a bacterial outbreak, the founder of the Laundress is on cleanup duty.
