Trump Spawned a New Group of Mega-Donors Who Now Hold Sway Over the GOP's Future

[appalachiablue]

'These powerful donors, who each contributed more than $1 million, shied away from party politics before Trump. What brought them off the sidelines?' by Isaac Arnsdorf. ProPublica, May 6, 2021.

Wesley Barnett was just as surprised as anyone to learn from news reports that the Jan. 6 Trump rally that turned into a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol was funded by Julia Jenkins Fancelli, an heiress to the fortune of the popular Publix supermarket chain. But Barnett had extra cause for being startled: Fancelli is his aunt.

Barnett said he was at a loss to explain how his aunt — who isn’t on social media, lives part time in Italy and keeps a low profile in their central Florida town — got mixed up with the likes of Alex Jones and Ali Alexander, the right-wing provocateurs who were VIPs at the Jan. 6 rally in front of the White House.

Over the last five years, it has become clear that former President Donald Trump has activated a new set of mega-donors who were not previously big spenders in national politics. Some of the donors appear to share the more extreme views of many Trump supporters, based on social media posts promoting falsehoods about election fraud or masks and vaccines. Whether they will deepen their involvement or step back, and whether their giving will extend to candidates beyond Trump, will have an outsized role in steering the future of the Republican Party and even American democracy.

ProPublica identified 29 people and couples who increased their political contributions at least tenfold since 2015, based on an analysis of Federal Election Commission records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The donors in the table below gave at least $1 million to Trump and the GOP after previously having spent less than $1 million total. Most of the donations went to super PACs supporting Trump or to the Trump Victory joint fundraising vehicle that spread the money among his campaign and party committees.

- Table of Donors...

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https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-spawned-a-new-group-of-mega-donors-who-now-hold-sway-over-gops-future

[Tiger8]

1. Best argument for estate and wealth taxes

Generally speaking, I think scions, aka "lucky sperm club members" believe they have more to lose with democracy.

Lots of exceptions of course, such as Warren Buffet, where 99% of his $78 billion fortune will go to charity. Buffet understands a major source of pride is doing what he's done. Is it child abuse to take that opportunity away from your kids - even if what they achieve is something very modest? Maybe, but what parent wants to see their child struggle financially? What Buffet's actions shows he believes his children can make their own way - and that's worth more than money.

I think many of these wealthy scions are like the daughter of the Publix founders, and view "up from the bootstraps" with contempt, because that is something she can never experience.

[Lonestarblue]

2. A lot of wealthy people saw Trump as a protector of their wealth.

They liked the tax cuts, and they know Republicans will just continue to cut taxes for them. I think that’s also why a lot of the professional class voted for Republicans down ticket. They do not want their taxes raised, so they were okay with Biden because Trump was a nightmare but wanted Republicans in control of Congress to prevent Biden from raising taxes. With Republicans, it’s all about keeping all their money even if democracy and the future of the country are on the line.

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. Which is what I don't understand

Why do people keep financing these vultures when they even balk at paying a fair wage to their own people? If they won't invest in us, we need to stop investing in them. The only way to get these sub-human rethugs to remember 'community' (other than when they are trying to take advantage of said community) is to threaten their money. That is the only thing they care about, so use that leverage! (No one will, of course, because that might mean their morning breakfast might take longer than 1 minute...)