Omeed Malik, CEO of Colombier Acquisition Corp, New York Stock Exchange, June 17, 2021.
Source: New York Stock Exchange
Veteran Wall Street executive Omeed Malik has raised more than $3 million to support Donald Trump’s campaign, the latest backer in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed campaign to support the former president. , plans to donate at least $100,000.
Malik, CEO of Farvahar Partners, said in an interview after helping raise money and giving voice to others like him. desantis He now plans to use his extensive network to help fund Trump’s presidential campaign.
“What I’m trying to do is put the resources that I have and the rolodex that I have, both of which are important, behind the president going into the future,” Malik said. .
Malik’s sincere statements are rare in President Trump’s orbit. Until recently he lived in New York City and identified as a Democrat. He is a regular donor to both Democrats and Republicans, serves on the Council on Foreign Relations, and continued his tradition through his work at Bank of America and the corporate law firm Weill, Gotshal & Manges. He built a successful Wall Street career.
But Malik, shaken by what he saw as government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, was forced to move to Florida and began to gravitate toward the right side of the aisle. And like many of his Trump supporters, he said it was the “weaponization of regulation and the legal system” that drew him to the former president.
“It’s starting to be prime time here. [President Joe] It’s time for Biden, Trump, and me to be more effective,” Malik said.
The pandemic also inspired him to pursue other ventures. Malik’s company, 1789 Capital, is a financial backer of Tucker Carlson’s media company. The company aims to help create a kind of parallel economy that appeals to more conservative consumers. He’s also behind PublicSquare, a conservative shopping app aimed at taking on Amazon.
Now his focus has shifted to having a significant impact on the 2024 election.
Malik’s advisers told CNBC that he plans to raise at least $3 million for Trump’s presidential campaign. That’s the same amount DeSantis raised in his 2022 gubernatorial campaign. The adviser was granted anonymity to discuss private efforts to support Mr. Trump.
Former President Donald Trump holds a campaign event at the Sportsman Boat Manufacturing Plant in Somerville, South Carolina, Monday, September 25, 2023.
Joshua Boucher | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Mr. Malik also donated more than $100,000 to Mr. DeSantis’ allied political action committee during Mr. DeSantis’ successful 2022 re-election bid, state campaign finance records show. . When Mr. DeSantis ran for president, Mr. Malik co-hosted a lucrative event in New York’s Hamptons area.
The adviser said Mr. Malik aims to donate at least $100,000 to Mr. Trump’s fundraising committees, but has not yet decided which ones. The adviser also said he plans to meet privately with President Trump in Florida to discuss fundraising strategies. Malik is already a member of the former president’s private club, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach.
Malik’s formal move to support Trump is the latest former DeSantis fundraiser to bet on the former president’s chances of defeating Nikki Haley in the Republican primary and defeating President Joe Biden in the general election. Become a person. Another DeSantis bundler, Dan Everhart, announced he would return to support Trump during the New Hampshire primary.
Malik’s decision to be so visible and outspoken in his support of Trump is unusual among his peers in the Wall Street establishment. The group is known for keeping a safe distance from the former president. Many chose to support Ms. Haley and Ms. DeSantis or sit on the sidelines until a viable alternative to Mr. Trump emerged, but donors’ dreams never became a reality.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a rally at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel & Washington. January 16, 2024 at a resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA.
Faith Ninivaggi | Reuters
And Malik had a few choice words for his contemporaries. He described trends in the donor community as “virtue signaling,” saying the common thread is that they agree with President Trump’s policies. They just don’t like his personality. But then he cited the Bill Clinton era and said that the mindset of these same donors was one that put policy first and considered personal failings secondary or simply irrelevant.
“But all the people who supported Clinton are now claiming that they don’t like Trump for personality reasons. It just doesn’t make sense,” Malik said. “The reasons they hold their noses seem to me to be insincere and sacrosanct.”
He also said in the interview that he has observed growing donor dissatisfaction with Biden. And he believes controversies like the debate over how college campuses should deal with anti-Semitism will once again force Trump to spend billions.
Efforts by Malik and some on Wall Street, including John Paulson, to start supporting Trump may not have come at a good time for Trump, as his political campaign continues to drain cash. unknown.
According to one report, Trump’s affiliated committees collectively spent about $27 million in legal fees in the last six months of 2023 while the former president faced various criminal charges. NBC News Analysis of campaign finance filings. One of the organizations that paid for Save America’s legal costs entered this year with about $5 million in hand.
Malik has had ties to Trump and his larger orbit for years, including as a former donor to the president. He reportedly donated $25,000 to Trump Victory, a community fundraising committee that benefited the former president’s 2020 campaign. federal election commission record.
Donald Trump Jr. and his fiance Kimberly Guilfoyle are reportedly investing in Public Square, the conservative shopping app that went public on the New York Stock Exchange thanks to its merger with Malix. Colombier Acquisition Corporation
Donald Trump Jr. and his partner Kimberly Guilfoyle arrive at the debate venue to watch the Republican presidential candidates during the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 23, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
“Omeade is a close friend, business partner, and one of the most important donors and financiers in Republican politics. I am thrilled that he is fully participating in my father’s re-election campaign. and I look forward to working with him to make America great again this November,” Trump Jr. said in a statement to NBC.
Malik also has ties to Rebecca Mercer, one of Trump’s wealthy supporters during the 2016 presidential campaign.she is in the next group report 1789 Capital Investor.
Mercer is the daughter of Robert Mercer, the former co-CEO of Renaissance Technologies, who donated $15 million to the super PAC that supported Trump’s first run for president.
Robert Mercer also invested in controversial, now-defunct data company Cambridge Analytica, where his daughter served on the board.
The Mercers have distanced themselves from Trump for years, but have been considering whether to financially support Trump’s presidential bid.They are reportedly He once again showed support for the former president.
Others in Mr. Malik’s orbit include Nick Ayers, a former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence who recently endorsed Mr. Trump, and Blake Masters, a candidate for Congress and an ally of Republican financier Peter Thiel. This includes Mr.
Brian Schwartz Reported by CNBC from New York, dashbe Burn NBC News reported from Washington.