The MAGA-loving billionaire Bill Ackman said Wednesday he remains steadfast in his support of Donald Trump despite his recently-reported admiration of the power Adolf Hitler held over his generals.
Ackman, 58, was pressed on whether his support had been shifted by The Atlantic’s bombshell report on Tuesday by Squawk Box co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin, who pointed out that Ackman is “Jewish and cares about Israel.”
The conspiracy-theorist hedge fund manager, who pushed a bogus story about Harris receiving questions ahead of the ABC News debate last month, dismissed the report and said it was “absurd” for anyone to suggest that “Trump is for Hitler.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The billionaire then continued to defend Trump by declaring—without a hint of sarcasm—that Trump can’t view Hitler with any admiration because the former president has Jewish friends.
“Trump’s not for Hitler,” Ackman said. “Most of Trump’s friends are Jewish.”
Ackman also noted that Trump “grew up in the New York City real estate community” and has a daughter and grandchildren who are Jewish, referring to Ivanka Trump and her three children with Jared Kushner.
Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, is a native New Yorker himself and lives in a $90 million Manhattan penthouse. Forbes estimates that his net worth is $9 billion, which would make him the 304th richest person in the world.
Sorkin laid out the full details of the Atlantic’s report and a separate one published by The New York Times on Tuesday, which included an interview with John Kelly, Trump’s ex-chief of staff. Kelly told the paper that Trump had personally remarked to him that “Hitler had done some good things.”
Ackman brushed off Kelly’s comments off as “one person stating a series of things, which I don’t know—.” Sorkin cut off his guest before he could finish and said, “There are 28 people who have worked for the president—not just in close proximity, but in the oval office with him—who have come out publicly and expressed things of this sort.”
That factoid didn’t deter Ackman, however, who pivoted to call Trump the “most pro-Israel president in terms of committing to do things and actually executing,” like moving the U.S. Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem in 2018.
Ackman’s appearance on the CNBC show got testy at times, with host Becky Quick having to correct Ackman’s pronunciation of “Kamala” after he’d repeatedly said the Democratic candidate’s name wrong. Even after being corrected, Ackman still pronounced the name wrong so he indicated he’s stop trying to say it all together.
“I apologize,” Ackman said before repeating twice, “VP Harris, VP Harris.”
Pressed on Trump’s laundry list of legal woes, including when the former president was found liable for sexual abuse, Ackman remarked, “sometimes juries make mistakes.”
Ackman was also asked what he thinks about Trump’s constant dishonesty. The billionaire again conjured up a defense for his preferred presidential candidate and claimed that Harris lies just as often.
