Over nine months, Timothy Mellon gave $5 million donations that alternate between super PACs supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump.
Timothy Mellon, an ultra-wealthy political donor bankrolling Donald Trump’s Super PAC, is also giving millions for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third-party candidate who has been blamed as a potential spoiler in the 2024 presidential race.
It’s an unusual arrangement that Democrats have highlighted as they seek to paint RFK Jr. as someone far more closely aligned with the Republican ex-president’s Make America Great Again movement than with causes on the left.
Many Democrats say that Kennedy, the son of a former Democratic senator and nephew to a former Democratic president, could help elect Trump if some voters cast ballots for him as an alternative to President Joe Biden. Trump has also suggested Kennedy helps him.Kennedy’s platform includes defunding the war in Ukraine, a position popular on the far-right, and re-investing that money into public childcare, something more popular on the left. He advocates to “seal the border,” a key talking point on the right, but frames the situation as a humanitarian crisis.
Mellon is heir to the family fortune of banking and industrial magnate Andrew Mellon. He has donated to many anti-immigration measures, and was a major contributor to a Texas-led fund to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico.
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Since 2023, the donor has given $20 million to the super PAC that supports Kennedy and $15 million to the super PAC that supports Trump. He backed Trump in 2020.
But Mellon doesn’t appear to have switched his allegiance. Instead, over the course of nine months, he gave $5 million donations that alternate between American Values 2024, which supports Kennedy, and Make America Great Again Inc., which backs Trump.
For example, Mellon donated to American Values on April 10, 2023, followed by MAGA Inc. on July 10, records from the Federal Election Commission show. He donated again to American Values on July 20, and then to MAGA Inc. on Aug. 16. The donations continued through January.
Stefanie Spear, press secretary for the Kennedy campaign, said the campaign does not communicate with American Values or keep track of its donors. “However, Mr. Kennedy is pleased that donors from diverse positions on the political spectrum are supporting his candidacy,” Spear said.
Prior to his run for president, Kennedy was prominent in advocacy against vaccinations, including the coronavirus vaccine. That position lines up more with Republicans, who are significantly less likely to get the vaccine, according to the Brookings Institution.
His platform includes a proposal to put federal funding into studying the health effects of “pharmaceutical products,” policies to expand homeownership and invest in Black businesses. He also describes his ties to prominent Democrats like his uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Hispanic labor activist César Chavez.
Trump’s campaign declined to comment. Efforts to reach Mellon through a nonprofit organization were unsuccessful.
“Is it unusual? Yes. Is it shocking? No. Not at all,” said Daniel Weiner, the director of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, an advocacy group on democracy law based at New York University.
‘Idealogical overlap between Trump and Kennedy’
Kennedy trails far behind both Biden and Trump. Members of the Kennedy family rejected his campaign and formally endorsed Biden in April. But polls from FiveThirtyEight show Kennedy with the support of around 10% of eligible voters.
While Democrats say he could siphon votes from Biden, survey results give mixed indications on the degree to which he might also take some votes away from Trump. A poll in March showed Biden beating Trump in a head-to-head race, but losing to Trump when Kennedy was on the ballot. An April poll showed Trump beating Biden in a three-man race with Kennedy.
Weiner said donors backing third-party candidates is an old pattern. He said if those backing Trump perceive Kennedy’s candidacy as taking more votes from Biden than from Trump, then they are likely to believe boosting Kennedy’s campaign might give them “more bang for their buck” than giving more money to Trump.
“Of course, there is also some ideological overlap between Trump and Kennedy, so it’s possible that is the reason, though typically in those cases major donors just pick the person they prefer,” Weiner said.
Matt Corridoni, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee spokesperson called Kennedy a spoiler in the race and said it was “not a coincidence” that he and Trump share a donor.
Mellon, who lives in Wyoming, is known for maintaining his privacy and is rarely photographed. He is an amateur pilot who has invested in and led transport-related companies including Pan American World Airways. Forbes estimates that the Mellon family is worth some $14.1 billion.
Mellon self-published an autobiography in 2016 that used racial slurs, criticized Black people who used social service programs, and compared the use of these programs to government slavery, according to the Washington Post. USA TODAY did not independently review the book.
A book by the same title, panam.captain, is due to be published by Skyhorse Publishing, another American Values donor, in July. The design shows a quote from Kennedy on the cover: “Tim Mellon is a maverick entrepreneur who embodies the most admirable qualities of what FDR called ‘American industrial genius.’”
Brendan Glavin, deputy research director for the money in politics organization Open Secrets, said it’s one thing for a donor to back one candidate during a primary election and switch to supporting another during the general, but that a donor simultaneously backing two is unusual.
He said that Kennedy’s national name recognition and his ability to pull votes away from both major presidential campaigns could make him a uniquely appealing spoiler for donors to back. “The question in the end will be, ‘Will he continue this?’” Glavin said. “That will be something to watch as we get into the summer. Is he feeling like this strategy is working?”
Glavin added that the “hyper-competitive era we are in,” where elections are decided by small margins, combined with a post-Citizens United world has led to an increase in big money trying to influence politics.
He said that some say there should be stricter enforcement of existing rules around super PACs, and others argue that new rules should be put in place about how they operate.
Contributor | Contributions | Description |
---|---|---|
Timothy Mellon | $15,000,000 | The heir to the Mellon Bank fortune was also Trump’s top donor in 2020. In the 2024 election cycle, he has also been a top contributor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PAC, American Values 2024. |
McMahon Ventures | $5,250,000 | An LLC owned by Linda McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) alongside her husband Vince McMahon, donated millions of dollars to Trump-supporting super PACs in 2016. McMahon later served as the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Donald Trump’s cabinet. McMahon also contributed to Trump’s 2020 campaign. There has been a longstanding relationship between the McMahons and Donald Trump, with Trump making appearances at WWE events, and Vince donating to his charities in 2007 and 2009. |
Hendricks Holding Co | $5,000,225 | Founded by conservative multibillionaire Diane Hendricks, a well-known figure among Republican circles, she is also the founder of Wisconsin-based ABC Supply, a roofing and windows company. Hendricks bankrolled Scott Walker’s presidential campaign in 2016 and later threw her support behind Donald Trump after Walker ended his bid. Hendricks, who was involved with the Trump Victory committee in 2016, also gave millions of dollars to Freedom Partners Action Fund, a now-defunct super PAC supported by conservative billionaires, the Koch Brothers. |
Robert Bigelow | $5,000,000 | The real estate investor, who was the top contributor to Ron DeSantis’s now-defunct presidential campaign, has switched his support to Trump |
Crownquest Operating | $5,000,000 | A Texas-based oil drilling company founded by Tim Dunn, a GOP megadonor. Dunn has supported far-right candidates and initiatives calling for extreme restrictions on immigration, opposing LGBTQ+ rights, and advocating for book bans. He recently sold his Midland Texas-based company, CrownRock, to Occidental Petroleum in a $12 billion deal. |
GH Palmer Assoc | $2,006,600 | A real-estate firm owned by Geoffery Palmer who owns several luxury buildings in southern California. He has emerged as the Trump’s top backer, with news website Politico calling him “Trump’s Los Angeles Money Man” in a 2016 article. Palmer and his company have a controversial history; they were charged with multiple counts of laundering political contributions in 1991. He also faces criticism that his luxury developments have contributed to gentrification and the displacement of poor people. |
M8 Enterprises | $2,000,000 | A Florida consulting firm, led by Emil Michael, a former Uber executive who exited the ride-hailing company following a series of scandals. Michael has made donation to other campaigns as well, including those of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and U.S. Representative Maria Salazar. |
America First | $1,009,540 | Promotes Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. The group has also supported pro-Trump candidates, such as Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, and ran ads advocating for the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
Key Square Group | $1,006,600 | A hedge fund that focuses on global macro trends and was founded by Scott Bessent, a former Chief Investment Officer at Soros Fund Management. Besides throwing his money behind Trump, Bessent is backing several Senatorial campaigns from Texas to Montana. He also gave to Ron DeSantis’s campaign before he exited the presidential race. |
Geosouthern Energy | $1,000,000 | A Texas-based natural gas company founded by George Bishop, whose net worth is estimated at $3.2 billion according to Forbes. |
Source: OpenSecrets; Federal Election Commission
Contributor | Contributions | Description |
---|---|---|
Timothy Mellon | $20,000,000 | The heir to the Mellon Bank fortune, Timothy Mellon, was Donald Trump’s top donor in 2020. In the 2024 election cycle, he has given more than $35 million combined to both Trump’s and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PACs. |
Nicole Shanahan | $4,500,000 | Nicole Shanahan, who is Robert F. Kennedy’s vice presidential candidate, contributed to American Values 2024 through Planeta Management LLC, funding the Super Bowl ad run by the super PAC. Additionally, Planeta donated $500,000 to the pro-Kennedy group Common Sense last year. |
Gavin De Becker | $4,003,300 | Becker is an author and security expert known for providing security to public officials. He is one of the top contributors to the super PAC American Values 2024, which is funding Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid. De Becker donated $10 million to the super PAC last year, almost all of which was refunded later. Becker’s security firm has received over $2 million in expenses from Kennedy’s campaign so far. |
Centner Academy | $1,006,850 | The private school chain in Miami, founded by David and Leila Centner, discouraged mask-wearing during COVID-19 and advocated against vaccines. The couple is currently entangled in a public corruption investigation for allegedly funneling money to ex-Miami city commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla for a sports complex on public land. The Centners have denied any wrongdoing. |
Colby Family Office | $309,899 | A private wealth management advisory firm that serves ultra-high-net-worth clients. |
Aubrey & Joyce Chernick Revocable Trust | $300,000 | A trust fund established by the Los Angeles-based millionaire couple Aubrey and Joyce Chernick. A trust serves as a vehicle for managing assets of its grantors during their lifetime and facilitating the distribution of those assets according to their wishes. |
Impala Asset Management | $283,600 | Founded by Bob Bishop, the investment management firm primarily focuses on managing long-short equity hedge funds. The firm is heavily in the materials sector, led by its largest holding in copper producer Ero Copper Corp. The firm made large gains during the price surge in stocks in energy, industrial and materials sectors in 2022. Bishop worked at George Soros’s fund before starting Impala. |
Skyhorse Publishing | $243,120 | Its founder, Tony Lyons, is also the treasurer of American Values 2024 super PAC. The group has collected expenses for its services from both Kennedy’s campaign and the super PAC. |
Resmed Inc | $200,000 | The San Diego, California makes medical equipment, particularly in the field of sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders. |
Bitnile Metaverse | $175,000 | The firm holds shares in multiple sectors, including oil and gas, financial services, and food. |
Source: OpenSecrets; Federal Election Commission
While an average of national polls shows President Joe Biden trailing Donald Trump, he is outperforming the former president in one area: campaign fundraising.
Biden’s campaign maintained a significant fundraising lead over Trump in March, ending the month with $85.5 million in cash on hand, nearly double that of the former president.
New filings showed that Biden’s campaign spent over $29 million in March, about seven times more than the Trump campaign’s expenditures of $3.7 million. Most of Biden’s spending went toward ad campaigns in swing states, attempting to capitalize on the momentum following his State of the Union speech earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign replenished that money and then some, raising $43.8 million, versus the Trump campaign’s $15.3 million.