Billionaire Republican financier Robert Mercer Thursday is cutting all ties conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos and selling his shares in Breitbart News, which he has funded for years.
Mercer, who has long backed Breitbart and Yiannopoulos, said he hoped Yiannopoulos’ abrasive style and views outside the political mainstream would help people think for themselves. However, as Yiannopoulos moved closer to neo-Nazi and other racist groups, he now regrets supporting him.
“Without individuals thinking for themselves, society as a whole will struggle to distinguish the signal of truth from the correlated news of conformity,” Mercer said in a statement.
“I supported Milo Yiannopoulos in the hope and expectation that his expression of views contrary to the social mainstream and his spotlighting of the hypocrisy of those who would close down free speech in the name of political correctness would promote the type of open debate and freedom of thought that is being throttled on many American college campuses today.”
“But, in my opinion, actions of and statements by Mr. Yiannopoulos have caused pain and divisiveness undermining the open and productive discourse that I had hoped to facilitate. I was mistaken to have supported him, and for several weeks have been in the process of severing all ties with him.”
Wow, incredible statement from Bob Mercer — on Bannon, Milo, Breitbart: pic.twitter.com/6oSPpYlB7o
— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) November 2, 2017
Mercer was a major donor to President Trump’s campaign and has donated millions of dollars to other Republican candidates for lower offices. He’s known as a major backer for Kelli Ward, who’s running for Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat in Arizona in 2018.
Mercer also announced he would sell his shares in Breitbart News to his daughters.
He pushed back against reports that he marches in lockstep with Breitbart News chief and former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
“I have great respect for Mr. Bannon, and from time to time I do discuss politics with him,” he said. “However, I make my own decisions with respect to whom I support politically. Those decisions do not always align with Mr. Bannon’s.”
