New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is privately lobbying megadonors to donate to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, repots CNBC.
Johnson, a billionaire and the former American ambassador to Britain, is a loyal Trump supporter and longtime friend of the former president.
He has asked several fellow Republican billionaires to support Trump, according to allies of his who were granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations with CNBC.
"The sales pitch from team Johnson has been 'it's going to be Trump based on the polling. Are you just not going to get on the train as Trump heads to be the nominee?' " a Republican fundraiser familiar with the engagement told the news outlet.
Many big names are reluctant to support Trump, including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, steel magnate Andy Sabin and real estate titan Stephen Ross, according to the report, with some citing the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Johnson, who has already donated $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC this year, is fully on board.
After every new indictment, Trump has boasted that his standing among Republicans only improves.
Nearly two-thirds of Republicans — 63% —say they want the former president to run again, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released last month.
That's up slightly from the 55% who said the same in April when Trump began facing a series of criminal charges. Seven in 10 Republicans now have a favorable opinion of Trump, an uptick from the 60% who said so two months ago.
The findings bolster the arguments of some of Trump's rivals for the Republican nomination who laud his tenure as president but warn that he can't win in a general election when he must compete for votes beyond the GOP base.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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