By Charlie Spiering, Senior Political Reporter, Washington, Dc
18:50 15 Jun 2024, updated 19:03 15 Jun 2024
A former chief investment officer for George Soros revealed that a new generation of venture capitalists are warming up to Donald Trump, even as some Republican Wall Street bankers are begrudgingly signaling their support for the former president.
Scott Bessent, the CEO and chief investment officer for investment firm Key Square Group and one-time chief investment officer for the Democrat-run Soros Fund is intentionally stepping up his criticism of Bidenomics and backing Trump ahead the 2024 election.
‘The Wall Street group was always going to come back [to Trump],’ he told DailyMail.com during the Manhattan Institute Conference.
‘What I find more interesting is the new venture capital cohort that is supporting Trump, as they say in Las Vegas, a “new shooter.”‘
Bessent spoke as former President Donald Trump was fundraising in San Francisco, reportedly raising $12 million at an event hosted by two tech venture capitalists last weekend.
‘This is a completely new group. This is being socialized now in Silicon Valley that it’s okay to be a Republican it’s okay to support Donald Trump,’ Bessent said.
The fundraiser was held at David Sacks’ Pacific Heights mansion.
Bessent is also hosting fundraisers for Trump, one at his South Carolina home and one last weekend with Donald Trump Jr. in London.
He said there was a lot of ‘anti-Biden sentiment’ among investors who were also concerned about ‘pervasive antisemitism’ in the Democratic Party.
Bessent is rumored to be a possible candidate for President Donald Trump for Secretary of Treasury as well as John Paulson, who famously made billions by betting against subprime mortgages.
During the event, he said he was puzzled by the Biden administration’s spending priorities, explaining that political leaders were usually rewarded by voters for big spending programs.
‘He’s given away so much money, why are the programs so unpopular?’ he asked. ‘Unemployment is low, investment is high, and everybody’s unhappy.’
He blamed the Biden administration for pervasive inflation and the high cost of living as well as skyrocketing housing costs.
The Biden administration, he said, was hitting the accelerator on the economy with too much spending and the Federal Reserve was hitting the brakes by raising interest rates.
‘In Grand Prix racing it’s call two foot driving … the engine burns out,’ he said.
Bessent criticized Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for shortening the national debt maturity, easing financial conditions for the administration right before the election.
The Biden administration, he argued, was taking over the federal reserve.
‘When people talk about politicizing the fed, I actually think Treasury has taken over the fed, as former fed chair she knew how to do it,’ he said, referring to Yellen, who was the chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018.
Bessent predicted the Biden administration would act quickly to provide more economic incentives, to win over more voters in November.
‘The administration has a lot of tricks up their sleeves before November 5th,’ he said. ‘Everything’s up for grabs, we’re probably going to see $100-150 billion from the COVID employee retention checks. Those checks are going to conveniently start getting mailed out by next month.’
