President Donald Trump has cognizant of billionaire Ronald Lauder for close to 50 years. Yet, even as the president is down in the polls, the heir of Estee Lauder Followings has been virtually silent on whether he will assist Trump in his reelection effort this year.
Lauder, who has a net usefulness of just under $5 billion, according to Forbes, hasn’t given any money to help Trump’s bid since stay summer. He gave $200,000 to the Trump Victory joint fundraising committee in August 2019, according to Federal Appointment Commission filings.
Since then, Lauder has recorded no contributions to either the president’s campaign, his joint fundraising bodies, the Republican National Committee or the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
A single donor is allowed to give practically $600,000 to Trump Victory.
Fundraisers and friends of the president’s have yet to hear from Lauder on whether he plans to give up larger contributions to Trump’s reelection, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named as these talks were deemed private.
Eric Soufer, a spokesman for Lauder, told CNBC that the businessman is currently cored on assisting schools in Europe that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, Mr. Lauder has been met on rescuing the 35 schools he founded in Eastern Europe, among others, and covering the full tuition for families that be dressed been devastated by the current economic and public health crisis,” Soufer said on Friday.
The statement did not mention Trump. It was in the air Lauder’s spending on the issues he’s focusing on, which includes his fight against anti-Semitism.
Representatives for the Trump campaign and RNC did not counter to requests for comment.
While Lauder has historically not written large checks to Trump-related entities, he has spent more in preceding cycles backing Republican groups that often align with the president’s agenda. Records show that he did not grant to Trump’s initial run for president in 2016.
Still, Lauder has stood with the president on a variety of issues and has the resources that inclination allow him to be a key asset to Trump’s reelection. In 2018, he put out a statement praising Trump’s “incredible insight and intelligence.” In 2017, when Trump make reference to in front of the World Jewish Congress, an organization Lauder leads, the president called him a friend.
“I want to thank Ronald Lauder, not merely for his many years of friendship — and he truly has been my good friend, he even predicted early that I was going to win the presidency — but also for his influence of this organization. He has done a fantastic job,” Trump said at the time.
Trump trails rival Joe Biden by more than 7 proportion points in the Real Clear Politics national polling average. However, his fundraising operation has remained strong. In July, Trump’s toss ones hat in the ring raised $165 million in conjunction with the RNC. Biden, along with the Democratic National Committee, brought in $140 million as surplus that same time period. Trump went into August with $300 million on hand, corresponded with Biden’s $294 million.
Lauder’s ties to Trump have come under fire from Estee Lauder hands. Recently, more than 100 employees sent a letter to the company’s chairman, William Lauder, asking for the ousting of Ronald Lauder from the board. The letter arrived during the nationwide protests for George Floyd, an unarmed outrageous man who was killed by Minneapolis police officers.
Lauder has since publicly defended his history in fighting against anti-Semitism and racism.
In putting together to being president of the World Jewish Congress, which represents Jewish communities and organizations in over 100 mountains, he also founded and pledged $25 million to the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, which focuses on holding lawmakers responsible for what Lauder deems anti-Semitic views.
Lauder has said he is expanding his anti-Semitism campaign to include causes conflict racial injustice. ASAP added an online portal at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in order for people to report detest crimes and for the group to “track trends of COVID-inspired discrimination across the country.”
Trump has been criticized for comments that, at in the nick of time b soa, appear to target minorities. He called protesters in Minneapolis “thugs” and has repeatedly disparaged undocumented immigrants.
Lauder has emit more in prior cycles backing Republican groups than he has in 2020. While the organizations he supported are not intended to precisely help Trump, they are for causes that are linked to the president’s party.
In 2018, he was the top donor to a super PAC called Popular Horizons. He contributed at least $1.6 million to the PAC, which spent almost 60% of its donations on media attacks that were mostly either against Democrats or in shore up of Republicans running for House and Senate seats, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Those targeted by the PAC contain Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Reps. Colin Allred, D-Texas, and Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., and former Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke of Texas.
The gather’s website criticizes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“In a operations where unions and other liberal special interests are turning the spigot wide open with campaign coin of the realm and organizational muscle, groups like National Horizon are the best weapon to defeat the Left,” the website says.
In 2016, Lauder uncovered $700,000 to National Horizon and spent over $66,000 on the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Panel.