Trump loyalist secretly slams president behind his back over 'botched' handling of pandemic
According to a report from the Daily Beast, billionaire Donald Trump backer Peter Thiel has become disenchanted with the president over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and is currently keeping his distance from Trump's 2020 re-election efforts.
The report from the Beast's Lachlan Cartwright, Asawin Suebsaeng and Lachlan Markay states, "During the last presidential campaign, Facebook board member and billionaire Peter Thiel was among Donald Trump’s most important backers, campaigning for the future president as a “proud,” openly gay supporter of the Republican nominee and even speaking at the Republican Party’s 2016 convention. Four years later, Thiel has taken on a dramatically reduced—if not altogether nonexistent—role in pushing for Trump 2020."
"Though Thiel declared a year and a half ago that he supports Trump’s re-election, he so far hasn't donated large sums to any of the major Trump campaign committees, and it is unclear to various Trump lieutenants if those contributions are forthcoming," the report continues. "Top officials in the president’s political orbit say that Thiel has been absent from 2020 discussions, with one proclaiming the famous investor had “ghosted” Team Trump lately. And several people familiar with the situation say he has privately criticized Trump in recent months and contemplated limiting his support to other GOP or conservative-nationalist politicians such as Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, to whom he donated the legal maximum of $5,400 in 2017."
Of more concern to the president regarding future help from Thiel in what is shaping up to be an uphill battle to remain in the White House -- based on current polling - is Thiel reported unhappiness with the president that has included making disparaging comments.
"One person in Thiel’s circle tells The Daily Beast that Thiel has been “shit-talking” Trump over what he views as the president’s hamfisted and botched handling of the pandemic that has resulted in a stalled economy, massive job losses, and a U.S. death toll approaching 90,000. Another person familiar with Thiel’s recent griping said that Thiel was “clearly very frustrated” with the president’s uneven public appearances, particularly the daily White House press briefings Trump held that often ended in head-scratching pronouncements or politically disastrous boasts," the report continues. "In that regard, Thiel was hardly alone. Trump’s briefings got so bad that his own most senior advisers were urging him to cut down on them, arguing to him directly that these hours-long briefings were tanking his poll numbers and handing a gift to Team Biden. But for a once-declared MAGA diehard to feel this way underscores the degree of self-inflicted damage Trump may have done."
The report goes on to note, "The White House and Trump campaign did not provide comment. The Daily Beast emailed Thiel and his representative a detailed list of questions and gave them multiple opportunities to comment. They did not respond, though in this case, the money—or lack thereof—may tell the story. "
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GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / BILL PUGLIANO Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has faced criticism for strict stay-at-home orders that are beginning to ease on better trends for the coronavirus in Detroit
GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / SCOTT OLSON A nearly-empty parking lot at an Illinois Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in March after US auto manufacturing effectively shut down due to the coronavirus