Scoop: Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman backs Trump
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Stephen Schwarzman is interviewed in Tokyo in March. Photo: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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.
- "The dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency," he says in a statement to Axios.
- "I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong 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."
Between the lines: In November 2020, Schwarzman called on Trump to move on from his defeat as supporters scrambled to try to overturn the election.
- After Republicans' disastrous midterm performance, Axios broke the news that Schwarzman was searching for a next-generation candidate in 2024.
- "America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday," Schwarzman said in November 2022. "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."
Zoom in: Trump and Republicans have sought to exploit Democratic divisions over Israel and cast Biden as weak on antisemitism, especially as pro-Palestinian protests have roiled college campuses.
- Trump has come under fire for associating with prominent antisemites and attacking Jewish voters who support Biden.
- "If Jewish people are going to vote for Joe Biden, they have to have their head examined," Trump said earlier this month, while also claiming that Jewish Democrats "hate Israel and "their religion."
What we're watching: As some business leaders begin returning to Trump's camp, Blackstone remains highly bipartisan.
- Jon Gray — Blackstone's president and COO, and heir apparent to Schwarzman — backs Biden and is a big Democratic donor.
- Tom Nides, formerly Biden's ambassador to Israel, joined Blackstone in January as vice chairman for strategy and client relations.
