May 30, 2024 - 22:21
By cnbc.com

Trump's Republican megadonors shrug off his guilty verdict

Former President Donald Trump is unlikely to lose the support of Republican megadonors after his guilty verdict in his New York criminal trial.
The donor sentiment represents a shift for some, who were looking for an alternative to Trump and worried his legal problems would weight down his campaign.
"I haven't heard anybody who gives a s---" about the outcome of Trump's trial, said New York businessman and Republican donor Andy Sabin.

Former President Donald Trump has at least one group of supporters he won't have to worry about losing even after he was found guilty in his New York criminal hush money trial: Republican megadonors.

"I haven't heard anybody who gives a s---," said New York businessman and Republican donor Andy Sabin, when asked whether major GOP contributors he knows care about the verdict in Trump's trial.

Many of the party's wealthiest donors tell CNBC they plan to stay in Trump's corner, despite him being found guilty in New York on all 34 felony counts.

The donor sentiment represents a shift for some Republican megadonors, who initially looked for an alternative to Trump during the party's presidential primary, driven by a belief that the the former president's legal problems would fatally weaken his campaign to replace President Joe Biden.

Now, "There is zero care about that," a longtime Republican fundraiser told CNBC. "A year ago, maybe [the trials mattered]. Now, none."

This person, along with some others in this story, was granted anonymity in order to discuss private conversations with Trump and donors.