Joe Manchin, ostensibly a Democrat, was the subject of a fundraiser hosted by longtime GOP donor and hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz at his $95 million estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
The $5,000 a plate fundraiser, which generously came with a lunch plate of either chicken or fish, was also attended by Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and Home Depot co-founders Ken Langone and Bernard Marcus, who typically donate to Republicans.
The news should not shock anyone who has been paying attention to Manchin and his relationship with Peltz. In October 2021, Peltz told CNBC that he talks to Manchin every week and tells him to “stay tough.”
At that time, Manchin was fighting with his party to cut back President Biden’s ill-fated Build Back Better social spending plan. Democrats tried to acquiesce to Manchin and fellow “centrist” Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s demands, but after cutting roughly $2 trillion from the plan, Manchin and Sinema never supported the bill and it fizzled in the Senate.
Besides his opposition to the Build Back Better plan, Manchin has also split from his party on raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, as well as any kind of wealth tax and also opposed Biden’s Federal Reserve Board pick, Sarah Bloom Raskin.
In 2020, Peltz ran a fundraiser for Trump and the Republican National Committee at the estate that was expected to raise $10 million. Peltz would later apologize for voting for Trump in 2020 after the January 6 riots, though he did not apologize directly for fundraising for him.
Now, it seems Peltz may have his new man in Manchin. According to CNBC, attendees at the event stated that they hope Manchin switches parties and runs against Biden in the 2024 elections. Manchin previously stated that he does not plan to switch parties.
Manchin has raised $1.3 million from January to March of this year and holds a $7 million war chest. While Manchin has stated publicly that he will not decide on running for reelection until after the 2022 midterms, he told donors at the fundraiser that he will be running in 2024.
While Manchin was reportedly referring to running for reelection for his Senate seat, it seems at least some in the Republican party are hoping he runs against his friend Joe Biden instead.