The thing about wealthy donors is (and they maybe slimy underhanded grifters themselves in some/many cases), they do expect a "return on their investment". They certainly didn't climb to the economic levels they're at via altruism and/or low-ROI endeavors.
Trump did a few things during his first term (and is saying some things now) that could cause some of those wealthier donor entities to question which horse they want to bet on.
A) - and this one is painfully obvious - The military industrial complex certainly doesn't like a lot of 'we need to stay out of this military entanglement' talk. Did you happen to notice that mega donors are throwing money at Biden and Haley? (who despite being in different parties, are both solidly on board with spending a lot of military dollars on both the Gaza and Ukraine situations -- they don't seem to be throwing a lot of money at people who say we need to stay out of one or both of those conflicts)
B) Despite Trump proposing a "rich friendly" tax plan in his first term, it wasn't as "rich friendly" as some of his GOP counterparts and successors, and certainly not as "rich friendly" as GOP mega donors have become accustomed to.
Trump's tax plan would eliminate deductions on everything from state taxes to gambling losses.
www.businessinsider.com
C) Image is everything... some of these wealthy mega-donors fancy themselves as having a certain "elite" level of
refinement and
sophistication. Like any other rich person, they want to still be included in the same social circles, invited to the same fancy parties, and still be welcomed at the local country clubs. Having their name attached to Trump would likely jeopardize that as they probably don't to be seen as being of the same "ilk" as the Alex Jones's, guys in buffalo hats storming the capitol, etc... They want to be seen as being "above" that.
Here's the list of people who've thrown money at Haley campaign efforts in recent weeks.
Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, metals mogul Andy Sabin and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin and Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, and the Koch-aligned Americans for Prosperity.
I would use a guard dog analogy. Sure, both a German Shepard and a Pit Bull can both attack an intruder and protect your home...The German Shepard may require a little more up front expense, but the latter is much more unpredictable and can turn on you.
So with regards to the type of
guard dog they want protecting their financial interests, it would seem the GOP mega donors are opting for the much more predictable German Shepard that is Haley, instead of Pit Bull that is Trump... The German Shepard is much more obedient, and there's a lower probability that they'll bite your face off in your sleep or land you in legal hot water because they attacked your neighbor's kid.
www.washingtontimes.com
