This Billionaire Donated $100 Million to Trump and RFK Jr.'s Super PACs
This Billionaire Donated $100 Million to Trump and RFK Jr.'s Super PACs
Conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon donated $50 million to a super PAC supporting Donald Trump on May 31, the day after the former president was convicted in his New York hush money trial. Mellon has now given a total of $75 million to support the pro-Trump super PAC this election cycle, according to a Rolling Stone review of campaign finance records.
He has also donated $25 million to a super PAC promoting the independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who is viewed by many Democrats as a potential spoiler candidate who could help cost President Joe Biden the election.
Mellon, a scion of the famous banking magnate Andrew Mellon, has drawn criticism in the past for using racist stereotypes in his autobiography.
Taken together, Mellon has donated roughly 42 percent of the total raised by the super PACs boosting Trump and Kennedy. The organizations, which can accept contributions of any size, are vital for both candidates' campaigns.
So far, MAGA Inc. has spent $68 million on independent expenditures aiding Trump's primary and general election campaigns this election cycle.
Last month, the super PAC touted its recent fundraising success to The New York Times, telling the paper that it had raised $70 million in May. It turns out $50 million - or more than 70 percent of that haul - came from one donor, Mellon, immediately after Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes.
According to a MAGA Inc. memo reviewed by the Times, the super PAC intends to spend its recent donations to help Trump win Black and Latino voters, and also support his campaign in key Rust Belt states.
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