Republican megadonor Bernie Marcus said Tuesday that he would likely continue giving money to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid if the former president were convicted of a crime, but the billionaire does not plan to be one of his biggest financial backers.
Marcus, co-founder of home improvement retailer Home Depot, announced earlier this month that he was endorsing Trump, the clear favorite for the 2024 Republican nomination race that begins Jan. 15 in Iowa.
Trump faces four criminal cases, including state and federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump, 77, denies any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty in all four cases.
The unprecedented legal upheaval has raised questions about what would happen to Trump’s campaign if he were convicted or jailed.
Bernie Marcus said Tuesday that he would continue donating money to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid if the former president were convicted of a crime. fake images
Asked in an interview with Reuters whether he would continue to support Trump if he were convicted, Marcus replied: “I think so. Because I think everything is a lie.”
Marcus, 94, who supported Trump’s White House bids in 2016 and 2020, said he had spoken with the former president recently.
“I never talked about his legal fees or his legal problems,” Marcus said, adding that Trump was “very happy” with his support.
Marcus is co-founder of home improvement retailer Home Depot. AFP via Getty Images
Marcus and his wife Billi Wilma Marcus were the seventh-largest individual Republican donors in the 2020 election cycle, giving nearly $25 million to Republican campaigns, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit group that tracks money in politics.
Business magazine Forbes estimates Marcus’s net worth at around $8.8 billion.
Marcus declined to go into detail about his donations this time, saying only that he would support Trump in the primaries and general election against Biden in November 2024, should Trump be the nominee.
However, Marcus warned that it would not be a great financial support.
“Of course, I’m going to support him to some extent, but I’m not one of his big donors, that’s for sure,” Marcus said.
Marcus said he would only support Trump in the primaries and general election against Biden in November 2024. Getty Images
The billionaire said he also liked Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but he didn’t think they could beat Trump in the nomination race.
Marcus said he thought Trump was a “fixer” who would be beneficial to the U.S. economy and strong on Middle East foreign policy.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn