Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman has formally endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. His reasons largely center around national security.
What To Know: Ackman has historically been a Democratic political donor. He said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he’s voted for a lot more Democrats than Republicans, but that won’t be the case this time around.
The billionaire hedge fund manager is firmly in Trump’s camp for an assortment of reasons, the most important of which is national security.
“My biggest issue is the U.S. does not continue if we have some massive World War 3 global conflagration. And I think the world had become a much, much more dangerous place in this administration,” Ackman said.
He told CNBC that this stems from the perception of weakness in the executive branch, which he believes is a reality. He highlighted various foreign policy decisions under the Biden administration that he believes have made the U.S. look fragile and made it less safe to be an American citizen.
Ackman believes that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election, the U.S. will become a much more “dangerous” place. On the other hand, Ackman believes Trump could address many national security concerns.
“I think Trump is going to end the war in Ukraine… Trump is a dealmaker, this is what he, in fact, does for a living,” Ackman said.
Ackman explained that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war, as it has been a “disaster” for Russia. He expects Trump to threaten Putin with billions of dollars in additional support for Ukraine. If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t want to make a deal, Trump will threaten to pull support from Ukraine.
“Both will feel threatened by Trump and that will enable a resolution,” Ackman said.
Empirically, the world has become much less safe in recent years, he said, offering protests across college campuses as an example. A lot of students are afraid to go to class and have had their studies disrupted by violent protests on campus. The protests were first anti-Israel, but became anti-America as people began burning American flags, Ackman said.
Trump has said he would deport anyone in the country on a visa who was supporting terrorists, but the Biden administration has failed to do anything, he added.
From Last Week: Bill Ackman Lists 33 ‘Actions’ Of Democrats That Swung Him Toward Supporting Trump Even Though He Is An ‘Imperfect Man’
Of course, Ackman was asked about potential market implications. Trump said last month that he would direct the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL. Alphabet is one of Pershing Square’s largest positions, with more than a 13% weighting in the fund’s portfolio.
The hedge fund manager noted that Pershing Square has not bought or sold any stocks in anticipation of the election outcome one way or the other. However, he believes Trump would do more to help accelerate growth of U.S. businesses.
The only way to dig out of $36 trillion dollars in debt is through growth, Ackman said.
Ackman told CNBC that he believes that it’s in the best interest of the country to have Trump in the White House.
“If it causes harm in a company that I have an investment in, so be it,” he said.
The latest election polls show Harris favored over Trump, but the vice president’s lead is narrowing. On the other hand, Trump is well ahead in betting odds and on prediction markets.
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