Wall Street donors are abandoning Trump -- it's no longer a 'marriage of convenience': The Economist

According to The Economist, Wall Street is turning its back on Donald Trump.

More and more financiers who've historically donated to Trump are voicing displeasure with him, especially after he announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election as the 2022 midterms were still being contested.

"On November 16th Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, a private-equity company, said he would back someone from a 'new generation' of Republicans in 2024," the Economists' op-ed pointed out. "The same day Thomas Peterffy, founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers, said the party needed a 'fresh face.' Ken Griffin, chief executive of Citadel, a hedge fund, was bluntest. On November 15th he branded Mr Trump a 'three-time loser' and announced his support for Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida."

Speaking to The Economist, GOP strategist Reed Galen said Wall Street financiers and Trump always had a marriage of convenience. Even though they sometimes didn't like Trump's rhetoric, they believed he would help usher in pro-Wall Street lawmakers. "That largely paid off—but many financiers now fret that Mr Trump’s anti-trade and anti-immigrant populism has bolstered the party’s business-sceptical wing," writes The Economist.

Even though Republicans gave a less-than-stellar performance in the midterms, the exit of Wall Street donors may not have as negative an effect as some would think.

"Many financiers favour Democratic presidential candidates anyway, in part because their industry is concentrated in deep-blue cities, primarily New York. And Mr Trump has triumphed without financiers’ cash before," The Economist explains, adding that Trump has already "amassed a warchest of around $100m to fight the 2024 primary. He is still hugely popular with the Republican base."

Read the full article over at The Economist.