American billionaire and one of the world’s most famous hedge fund managers, Bill Ackman, officially announced his support for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election on Saturday, July 13th. Trump (Donald Trump) had earlier in the day survived an assassination attempt, sustaining an injury to his right ear.
Ackman took to the social media platform X to make this announcement in a lengthy post. He wrote, “I will officially support Donald Trump. … I assure you that I have made this decision cautiously and rationally, relying on as much experiential data as possible.”
“I made this decision some time ago, and many of my fans on X have already learned about it from my posts supporting Trump and criticizing Biden,” Ackman said.
“I believe that the upcoming presidential election is one of the most impactful in my lifetime, so I have taken the appropriate time to articulate my views. I will share these views widely and take on the responsibility for them.”
There has been a significant shift in Ackman’s attitude towards Trump compared to 2021. Following the January 6th Capitol Hill incident, Ackman had posted that Trump should “resign and apologize to all Americans.”
Ackman did not elaborate on the reasons for supporting Trump, but in his post, he mentioned, “It would require a lengthy article to elaborate on my thoughts. … I just do not have the time nor urgency to write this piece, … Recently, I had the privilege of spending a few hours with President Trump, so I will share some first-hand insights.”
With 1.3 million followers on X, Ackman’s post announcing his support for Trump received over 13 million views and 130,000 likes within hours of its publication.
Ackman did not mention the shooting incident on Saturday in his post. He hinted at the event in a later article, saying, “We are at a precarious moment for democracy. The risk of harm to any candidate carries disastrous consequences for people’s confidence in our system and democracy.”
At the end of May, the Financial Times of London reported, citing sources, that Ackman had decided to support Trump and would soon announce his decision on the social media platform X.
Ackman is the primary investor, founder, and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund.
Prior to Ackman, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, also declared his support for Trump. Shortly after the shooting incident, Musk posted on X, “I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery.”
On Saturday, the 13th, a little after 6 p.m., Trump was shot in the right ear and bled while attending a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One person in the audience died, and two others were injured. The shooter was shot dead on the scene. The FBI has classified the incident as an “assassination attempt.”