WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) – Conservative billionaires Liz Uihlein and Dick Uihlein are helping to finance Donald Trump's campaign and capitalize on the fundraising lead built by President Joe Biden. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that the United States will provide financial support to former President Trump as he plans to leave the United States.
The Uihleins, who founded the Uihlein shipping and packaging company in their basement in 1980, had donated to the Republican primary campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who withdrew from the race in January.
Urin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The couple's decision came after the former president won 14 of 15 states in the Super Tuesday primary, and his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, withdrew from the race, according to the FT. That's what it means.
Trump is lagging behind Biden in fundraising for the Nov. 5 general election. Mr. Trump's cash holdings had fallen to just over $30 million at the end of January, down from about $33 million the previous month, his campaign disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
Biden, facing an increasingly competitive bid to win the Democratic nomination, told the FEC that he ended his campaign in January with about $56 million in cash, up from $46 million in December.
The Uihleins have each donated $1.5 million to Mr. DeSantis, and Liz Uihlein told the FT that she would give the same amount to Mr. Trump.
The Wisconsin-based couple has donated more than $250 million to federal candidates and political organizations since the 2016 election cycle, the FT reported, citing the nonprofit organization OpenSecret. That's what it means. They supported Trump in the past two elections, but were looking for an alternative candidate to support in the 2024 race.
In an interview with the paper, Liz Uihlein said both Trump and Biden were already well known to voters, and she wondered how much the donations would have helped at this stage.
“These are two very distinct people,” she told the FT. “I don't understand why people have to donate so much money.” (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
