Chuck Darwin on Nostr: In office, Trump gave some of his donors highly unusual roles in government. ...
In office, Trump gave some of his donors highly unusual roles in government.
#Schwarzman, the Blackstone C.E.O., for example, had not supported Trump in the 2016 primaries, but he gave $250,000 to his Inauguration;
soon after the Senate passed the tax-cut bill, he hosted a private lunch with Trump at his New York triplex
—the former home of John D. Rockefeller
—where the cost of entry was $50,000 a plate.
Schwarzman revealed in his 2019 memoir that Trump had asked him to help renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Schwarzman reportedly spoke with Trump as often as several times a week during the talks.
“Donald listens to me because I’m richer than Donald,” Schwarzman joked at one point to Gerald Butts,
then the top adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister.
Schwarzman also wrote that he had served as Trump’s intermediary with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
personally extending the invitation that led to Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago, in early 2017.
In 2018, Schwarzman made eight trips to China “on behalf of the administration,”
personally reporting back to Trump about his efforts “to assure senior Chinese officials that the President was not looking for a trade war.”
His pivotal role was not disclosed at the time,
despite the potential conflicts inherent in having the person in charge of Blackstone’s broad investment portfolio also represent the U.S. government.
In 2020, Schwarzman gave $3 million to a pro-Trump super pac.
#Schwarzman, the Blackstone C.E.O., for example, had not supported Trump in the 2016 primaries, but he gave $250,000 to his Inauguration;
soon after the Senate passed the tax-cut bill, he hosted a private lunch with Trump at his New York triplex
—the former home of John D. Rockefeller
—where the cost of entry was $50,000 a plate.
Schwarzman revealed in his 2019 memoir that Trump had asked him to help renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Schwarzman reportedly spoke with Trump as often as several times a week during the talks.
“Donald listens to me because I’m richer than Donald,” Schwarzman joked at one point to Gerald Butts,
then the top adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister.
Schwarzman also wrote that he had served as Trump’s intermediary with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
personally extending the invitation that led to Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago, in early 2017.
In 2018, Schwarzman made eight trips to China “on behalf of the administration,”
personally reporting back to Trump about his efforts “to assure senior Chinese officials that the President was not looking for a trade war.”
His pivotal role was not disclosed at the time,
despite the potential conflicts inherent in having the person in charge of Blackstone’s broad investment portfolio also represent the U.S. government.
In 2020, Schwarzman gave $3 million to a pro-Trump super pac.