Billionaire CEO and major donor to the Republican Party Ken Griffin is preparing to pour millions of dollars into his preferred GOP candidates in 2024 — and he is expected to exclude former President Donald Trump from the list.
Griffin has reportedly grown tired of the former president, urging the Republican Party that it’s time to “move on to the next generation” of leaders. For Griffin, that next generation should be led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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“I don’t know what he’s going to do. It’s a huge personal decision,” he told Politico of DeSantis, noting he would back the governor should he launch a White House bid. “He has a tremendous record as governor of Florida, and our country would be well-served by him as president.”
Griffin has already poured millions into DeSantis’s political future, dropping $5 million to become the Florida governor’s top donor during his reelection campaign in the 2022 midterm cycle, according to the outlet. The Citadel founder has long been a Republican donor, making hefty donations to political candidates over the last 20 years, both Republicans and Democrats.
And while Griffin backed many of Trump’s fiscal policies while he was in office, the billionaire donor has indicated it’s time to move on from the former president.
“He did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas,” Griffin said. “And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.”
Griffin’s sentiments may be reflective of a larger trend among Republican voters, who are increasingly attributing their support to the party as a whole rather than to Trump himself.
Almost two-thirds (62%) of Republicans say they identify as supporters of the Republican Party rather than as supporters of Trump, compared to about 30% who report feeling the other way around, according to a poll from NBC News. The new numbers show a significant drop in support from August 2021, when similar polls showed about 50% of Republicans said they supported the party over Trump.
The new polling comes at a crucial time for Trump, as the former president is reportedly expected to announce his bid for a 2024 presidential bid as soon as Nov. 14, according to Axios. Political strategists have long predicted Trump would announce a presidential bid sooner rather than later, hoping to get ahead of similar ambitions by some of his possible rivals, such as DeSantis.
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However, polling suggests DeSantis could have a leg up on Trump as Republican voters are increasingly warming up to the Florida governor over the former president. About 72% of Republican voters say DeSantis should have a great deal or good amount of influence over the party’s direction compared to 64% who said the same about Trump, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released in October.
DeSantis has not yet indicated whether he’ll seek a White House run, but the Florida governor is considered a top contender.
