Top Line
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear at the influential Business Roundtable's quarterly meeting later this month, giving him a platform to speak before the group's billionaire CEO members just weeks after his felony conviction in Manhattan last week.
Former President Donald Trump held a press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower. … [+]
Key Facts
In a statement, the Trump campaign said Trump would take part in a moderated debate at the group's meeting in Washington on June 13 to discuss “how to restore prosperity to the American economy.”
The group's members include billionaire CEOs such as Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman (estimated by Forbes to be worth $37.9 billion), Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su ($1.1 billion), Comcast CEO Brian Roberts ($1.9 billion), JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon ($2.2 billion) and Apple CEO Tim Cook ($2.1 billion), but it is unclear which of them will attend the meeting.
According to its website, Dell founder Michael Dell, the world's 15th richest person (worth $101 billion), is a member, as is Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, whose father, Rupert Murdoch, and his family have a combined net worth of $19.8 billion.
CNBC reported that President Joe Biden, who spoke at the group's quarterly meeting in 2022, has also been invited but will attend the G7 meeting from overseas. Anonymous sources said White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is expected to address the group on Biden's behalf.
The meeting comes as Trump has aggressively courted business executives in recent months. In April, he met with oil industry stakeholders, where he pledged to roll back environmental regulations and offered them $1 billion to support his candidacy, according to multiple media reports. And in May, he met with donors in New York and proposed tax cuts and made a plea for support, according to The Washington Post.
Main Background
Trump has been stepping up fundraising in recent months to close the gap with Biden's campaign, drawing support from wealthy donors. Several Trump-backed corporate executives have publicly voiced their support for the former president since his felony conviction in Manhattan last week. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman criticized X's sentence. Schwarzman, who recently announced his support for Trump, attended a fundraising event in Manhattan just hours after Trump was convicted. Meanwhile, metals magnate Andy Sabin, who said he would vote for Trump but has not donated to him, told Reuters, “I've yet to meet a donor who doesn't care about the trial at all.”
tangent
The Business Roundtable has publicly criticized Trump on multiple occasions during his term, opposing tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018 and calling on the president to “end the chaos and facilitate a peaceful transition of power” following the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
References
Billionaire Trump supporters, including Elon Musk and Bill Ackman, continue to defend Trump after his conviction (Forbes)
Elon Musk denies discussing White House roles with Trump — Trump is considering hiring these billionaires (Forbes)
Trump's Big Donors Lagging Behind Biden in Fundraising (Forbes)
