A longtime friend of Donald Trump wanted to charge $250,000 a person for a chance to hang out with the former president, Miami GP organizers have told him no.
There will not be a fundraiser for the Trump campaign at the upcoming F1 Miami Grand Prix.
According to a report in the Washington Post, the organizers of the race sent a letter to a well-known Trump ally denying him use of his suite to fund raise for the former president who is running for reelection this year.
Steven Witkoff is a longtime friend of Trump. He testified in the civil fraud trial for Trump that recently resulted in a New York judge ruling against Trump and fining him $350 million. The Post reports that Witkoff, who owns an exclusive South Florida golf club, invited members to an exclusive weekend at the race that included a helicopter trip. The $250,000 price tag didn’t specifically mention it was a fundraiser, but the organizers of the race seemed to have enough evidence to indicate otherwise and informed Witkoff of their decision Friday.
“It has come to our attention that you may be using your Paddock Club Rooftop Suite for a political purpose, namely raising money for a federal election at $250,000 per ticket, which clearly violates the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix suite license agreement,” read the letter, a copy of which was posted online. “If this is true, we regret to inform you that your suite license will be revoked, you will not be allowed to attend the race at any time, and we will refund you in full.”
The Post reached out to Witkoff Friday evening. “This is something fake, for sure,” he said and declined to comment further.
It’s unclear if Trump will still attend the event, though the Post reports that the secret service has reached out to race organizers to coordinate a visit.
Friday’s Miami fundraiser refusal was the second of the day for the Trump campaign. According to Racer magazine the IndyCar series on Friday denied a request from an unnamed team to run a paint scheme that would have featured both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump.
“IndyCar does not approve sponsorships associated with elected officials, candidates for political office or political action committees,” an IndyCar spokesperson told RACER.
The Miami denial isn’t the first time Trump supporters have run afoul of Formula 1. In 2018 Santino Ferrucci driving for the Haas F1 team at the time, had a Trump-themed livery rejected for his Formula 2 car by the series.
While he was president, Trump famously visited Daytona International Speedway and gave the command to start the engines for NASCAR’s season opening Daytona 500 in 2020. The race was delayed twice by rain that day and eventually forced to move to Monday.
News Related-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich until end of January
-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges
-
Israel's economy recovered from previous wars with Hamas, but this one might go longer, hit harder
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data
-
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Sister Wives' star Christine Brown says her kids' happy marriages inspired her leave Kody Brown
-
NBA fans roast Clippers for losing to Nuggets without Jokic, Murray, Gordon
-
Panthers-Senators brawl ends in 10-minute penalty for all players on ice
-
CNBC Daily Open: Is record Black Friday sales spike a false dawn?
-
Freed Israeli hostage describes deteriorating conditions while being held by Hamas
-
High stakes and glitz mark the vote in Paris for the 2030 World Expo host
-
Biden’s unworkable nursing rule will harm seniors
-
Jalen Hurts: We did what we needed to do when it mattered the most
-
LeBron James takes NBA all-time minutes lead in career-worst loss
-
Vikings' Kevin O'Connell to evaluate Josh Dobbs, path forward at QB