Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, the primary financial backer of Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, has announced his decision to shift his support to Donald Trump. However, Bigelow has made it clear that he will withhold his financial contributions until he is certain that Trump will not face imprisonment.
“I’m pro-Trump. Right now, I’m determined to remain on the sidelines for the time being to see how these prosecutions play out,†stated Bigelow in an interview with Reuters. “I have to be sure that he does not have a position where the prosecution has a path to send him to jail.â€
Despite facing four criminal and three civil trials, some related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Trump continues to lead the race as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nominee in the 2024 election. Bigelow emphasized the importance of Trump avoiding incarceration, stating, “He’s got to stay out of jail. You can’t run the United States from jail.†Bigelow, like many Republicans, considers the legal cases against Trump to be politically motivated, although the Justice Department has repeatedly dismissed such claims.
More Read
Bigelow clarified that he would consider supporting Trump financially if the former president was convicted but received only a probationary sentence.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Bigelow, a major Republican donor who previously contributed $20 million to the pro-DeSantis “Never Back Down†super PAC, had decided not to donate further funds to the Florida governor. Bigelow’s decision was triggered by his disapproval of DeSantis’ signing of a bill in April that banned abortions after six weeks, passed by the Florida legislature.
While Bigelow’s public endorsement and financial stance may not significantly impact Trump’s campaign, given Trump’s reliance on small donations, it does provide him with ammunition to criticize DeSantis, who is facing financial challenges and cannot afford to lose major donors like Bigelow.
Bigelow also expressed his belief that Trump would be better equipped to handle the current turmoil in the Middle East compared to DeSantis.
Following his interview with Reuters in August, where he discussed withdrawing support from DeSantis, Bigelow revealed that he did not receive any communication from the Florida governor’s campaign for two weeks. Eventually, DeSantis’ wife, Casey DeSantis, reached out, but Bigelow chose not to take her call, emphasizing that he considered it Ron’s responsibility to address the situation. In contrast, Trump’s campaign had already reached out to Bigelow by Wednesday morning.
Both DeSantis’ and Trump’s campaigns have not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Â
