A top Republican donor who previously backed Donald Trump's rivals Tim Scott and Nikki Haley in the GOP primary has now confirmed he will be voting for the former president in the 2024 election.
Eric Levine, who has frequently said he wouldn't vote for Trump in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021, has written a memo which has been shared on social media confirming he is switching allegiances, while stating that "the adage of 'never say never' is a wise one."
The move will be seen as a boost from Trump's White House bid amid suggestions that he is struggling to gather sufficient support from more moderate Republicans voters which he will need in the general election, including the millions who voted for Haley in the GOP primary.
The switch from Levine, head of the litigation and bankruptcy department at corporate law firm Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, comes shortly after the influential conservative group Club For Growth appeared ready to embrace Trump having spent the past year spurning the former president's latest White House bid.
On March 1, Trump told Club for Growth donors at a retreat in Florida that he and the organization's president, David McIntosh, are now "back in love" after being hostile with each other for several months, reported Politico.
News of Levine's switch was reported on X by Teddy Schleifer, a writer for Puck News, who published an email he said Levine had sent to his network. Levine later confirmed the contents of the letter when approached by Newsweek.
In his memo, Levine said that he has now decided to vote for Trump in November due to a "dramatic change in circumstances, albeit reluctantly and with reservations."
He added: "I remain concerned about Trump's relationship with the truth. I continue to cringe every time he tells the lie about a stolen election. And the thought that he did nothing while rioters ran through the Capitol chanting 'hang Mike Pence' still haunts me.
"Unfortunately, as much as I—like 70% of my fellow Americans—wanted something better, the November election will present us with the binary choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The question becomes: as between the two, who will leave a better, safer, and more prosperous America for my grandchildren? Hands down, the answer is Trump."
Levine goes on to explain that he has decided to back Trump over concerns about the safety of American Jews in the wake of a backlash to Israel's war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as what Levine describes as the "Social Justice agenda" being pushed across the country by progressive Democrats.
"The explosion of antisemitism in America's cities and on college campuses across the country has come entirely from the Progressive left. These are Biden voters, not the Proud Boys or some other right-wing extremists. People chanting 'from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free' and advocating for extermination of the Jewish people are not Trump supporters," Levine wrote.
"Instead, they are part of the Progressive coalition that Biden needs to win in November. When these protesters declare that the Jews 'got what they deserved', they are merely acting out the creed of Social Justice: punish the oppressors 'by any means necessary.'
"If there is no place for me and my grandchildren in America, it does not matter what other positions the candidates take on any other issues. We will not be here to worry about it," Levine added.
"On the one hand, Joe Biden needs the votes of those who embrace and advocate for the expansion of this evil. On the other hand, Donald Trump—whose grandchildren are being raised as proud American Orthodox Jews—wants to stamp it out.
"It leaves me no choice but to vote for Trump."
Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.
On March 6, Levine appeared on Fox News explaining the red lines that would stop him voting for Trump in November.
"If he wants to tell me that he wants to get out of NATO, I'm not going to support him. We've got to stay in NATO," Levine said. "If he tells me that he believes that January 6 was a righteous protest, he's not going to get my vote."
When Fox News' Neil Cavuto points out that Trump hasn't changed his mind on either of those two issues, Levine assures that it does not mean he will go on to vote for Biden.
"If Donald Trump doesn't retract his statement about telling NATO nations, I'm going to tell Russia to do whatever the hell they want to you, there's no reason for me to vote for Donald Trump. If I want a failed foreign policy I can vote for Joe Biden, [but] I won't."
In January, Trump said that anyone who gives money to Haley's presidential campaign would be "permanently barred" from the MAGA movement.
"We don't want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Update 3/29/24, 8:11 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add a comment from Eric Levine.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
