Follow Laura Loomer on Twitter, Gab, Truth Social, and Gettr @LauraLoomer.
Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/LauraLoomer
Donate to support Laura Loomer’s investigative journalism here: https://secure.loomered.com/general-funds?sc=website
NOTE: Please consider upgrading your subscription here for $7 month to help me keep this publication up and running. While everything here is free at the moment, your monthly financial subscription of $7 per month or $70 per year will help ensure that I can keep providing you and others with groundbreaking independent journalism and original political commentary. Your subscription for a nominal fee supports my journalistic efforts, and the expenses associated with my investigations. If you don’t want to miss any of my hard-hitting reports and commentary, please subscribe today!
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
TikTok’s Pro-CCP Billionaire Investors Donate Millions to DeSantis’ Presidential Campaign
Loomer: Hey, everybody. Welcome to a new episode of Loomer Unleashed.
Loomer: I’m your host, Laura Loomer. And on today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how Ron DeSantis has completely sold out to the Chinese Communist Party via his donors in Wall Street and Big Tech. Now you may have heard Ron DeSantis publicly say things like as Governor of Florida, he’s been tough on China, as Governor of Florida, he has called for a ban on TikTok, and most recently on the campaign trail while visiting the state of New Hampshire, Ron DeSantis said that he would consider a ban on TikTok if he were president of the United States.
Loomer: However, there's just one big problem with Ron DeSantis’ statement that he's going to somehow be tough on China economically speaking, and that he's going to ban TikTok, and that's the fact that some of his biggest campaign donors for his presidential campaign and some of the largest donors who are donating millions of dollars to the Never Back Down Super PAC, which is the official Ron DeSantis for president super PAC, happen to be some of the biggest investors in TikTok itself. Let's take a look.
Loomer: Now, at the end of July, the financial reports for super PACs were released.
Loomer: And as you know, I'm always sifting through financial reports and FEC forms with my fine tooth comb. And what did I discover when I was looking at the Never Back Down PAC reports? Well, I discovered the fact that Doug Leone, who happens to be one of the global managing partners at Sequoia, which is one of the largest venture capitalist firms in the country, that has significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party–he donated $2 million to Ron DeSantis’ Never Back Down PAC.
Loomer: Now, why is Doug Leone's $2 million contribution to the Never Back Down PAC of significance? Well, it's because in his position as one of the global chairmen of Sequoia Capital, it's important for people to understand that Sequoia is the largest U.S. venture capital funder in China. And they also happen to own 10% of Bytedance, which is the parent company of TikTok.
Loomer: And recently, Sequoia announced that they've decided to partner with Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities, giving them a $1.5 billion cash infusion and allowing Ken Griffin to enter the stock and bonds market in China.
Loomer: Sequoia Capital happens to be one of the largest venture capitalist funds in China today, and that, of course, means that they are heavily plugged into and associated with the Chinese Communist Party. How exactly does Ron DeSantis plan on being tough on China? And how does Ron DeSantis plan on banning TikTok when two of his biggest donors, Ken Griffin and Doug Leone of Sequoia, are bankrolled by the Chinese Communist Party?
Loomer: This is going to pose a massive conflict of interest and a big problem for Ron DeSantis, who is clearly being strung along by his billionaire donors in Wall Street and big tech, who are encouraging Ron DeSantis to modify, change, and are even influencing his foreign policy decisions. But don't take it from me. Take it from Ron DeSantis.
Loomer: At a recent fundraiser for Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign that was hosted in California's Central Valley by donors of Kevin McCarthy, who also happened to be donors of Gavin Newsom, by the way, Ron DeSantis told these donors that he doesn't agree with President Trump's policy on being tough on China, particularly as it relates to tariffs on China.
Loomer: Ron DeSantis expressed support, rather for open trade. And this is no surprise given the fact that Ron DeSantis himself has been supported in the past, dating all the way back to his time as a member of the United States Congress, by the Club for Growth, or as President Trump likes to call them, the Club for China Growth.
Loomer: Now, as governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis claims that he signed legislation that would keep TikTok off of government devices and out of Florida schools. However, it appears that while running for president and trying to amass a war chest of millions of dollars in his effort to undermine the MAGA America First movement and make it so that Donald Trump cannot secure the GOP nomination, Ron DeSantis seems to have a different public position than his private position.
Loomer: You see, publicly he tells people that he wants to ban TikTok, but behind closed doors he's taking money from some of TikTok's biggest investors.
Loomer: Now that I showed you how Doug Leone of the CCP tied Sequoia Capital firm donated $2 million to Ron DeSantis' Never Back Down PAC in an attempt to buy political influence and have a revolving door of access for the CCP in the White House regardless of who gets elected as president, I'd like to introduce you to another CCP tied donor who is bankrolling Ron DeSantis.
Loomer: Meet Jeff Yass. Jeff Yass is a Pennsylvania billionaire and investor who in 2005 founded a venture capital firm called SIG China.
Loomer: SIG China was established with the purpose of investing in emerging Chinese technology. Why does this matter?
Loomer: Well, given the fact that Jeff Yass has a net worth of $33 billion and he happens to be the wealthiest man and the wealthiest billionaire in the state of Pennsylvania, it's important to note that most of Jeff's wealth comes from his investment in Bytedance, which of course as mentioned before, is the parent company for TikTok.
Loomer: Now, according to financial reports, on February 7th, 2023, Yass, who is one of the largest investors into TikTok, donated $2.5 million to Ron DeSantis' state committee PAC in an effort to support Governor Ron DeSantis after he had already secured a second term as governor of Florida.
Loomer: Yass has also expressed interest in supporting Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign.
Loomer: And not only that, but according to FEC reports and this year alone, Jeff Yass has contributed over $15 million to the Club for Growth.
Loomer: Why does this matter? Well, the Club for Growth is notoriously anti-Trump. In 2016, when Ron DeSantis was a congressman and Club for Growth was praising him as a member of Congress and giving him a glowing review, especially given the fact that as a member of Congress, Ron DeSantis both signed off on and voted in favor of the TPP which Donald Trump has publicly condemned and even went so far as to remove when he was president of the United States.
Loomer: The Club for Growth has publicly said that they will not be supporting Donald Trump for reelection in 2024 and will instead be focused on other candidates who they say actually have a chance of winning the general election.
Loomer: Now, it's no secret that Club for Growth has aggressively opposed Donald Trump's tough on China trade policies. And Club for Growth itself is notorious for being a free trade organization that opposes all tariffs on Chinese trade.
Loomer: Given those facts, it's no wonder why the Club for Growth is lining up to support Ron DeSantis and his presidential campaign
Loomer: And let's not forget that when Donald Trump was in the White House during his first term, he publicly stated that he wanted to ban TikTok.
Loomer: And of course, in response to those statements, Donald Trump received a lot of public backlash. So given the fact that we are now once again in a presidential election year, it's no surprise as to why some of these biggest venture capitalists, investors and hedge fund managers who own very large stakes in Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, are lining up to give millions of dollars to candidates like Ron DeSantis, who are anti-Trump.
Loomer: By donating millions of dollars to Ron DeSantis and his super PAC, Never Back Down, donors and billionaires like Ken Griffin, Doug Leone and Jeff Yass are ensuring that there will be a constant revolving door of access for all of them and their businesses associates, as well as the Chinese Communist Party, to have access to the White House, very much like we see is the current situation with Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, who have completely sold our country out to the Chinese Communist Party.
Loomer: So while Ron DeSantis can publicly tell people that he wants to ban TikTok as a way to protect children and to stop data mining, and that he's going to make sure that a key part of his economic policy is being tough on China, as he recently told The Wall Street Journal this last week, his actions and his fundraising reports suggest the exact opposite.
Loomer: Now, you may have heard some people say, oh, we have to vote for Ron DeSantis because Ron DeSantis is basically Trump without the baggage. But as I have clearly shown you in this video, that couldn't be further from the truth, because Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump clearly have opposite views when it comes to how to deal with China and our economic trade policy with foreign nations.
Loomer: While Donald Trump is not an advocate of free trade, Ron DeSantis and his associates at Club for Growth or Club for China growth, as President Trump likes to call them, are clearly in favor of America last trade policies that export our jobs overseas at the expense of American factory workers and American manufacturers who are losing their jobs to cheap labor overseas in countries like China.
Loomer: While speaking at a conference in China, Wall Street billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin publicly said that he is looking to support Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign. And during the same conference, he actually praised China's communist leader, Xi Jinping, for his commitment to, "accelerating China's economic growth."
Loomer: Now I think that it should set off a lot of red flags and alarms that Ron DeSantis' top donor, Ken Griffin, who according to financial reports, gave him $5 million for his reelection campaign, is saying publicly that investment in China is a center of focus for his company, Citadel.
Loomer: Do we really want to elect somebody as president of the United States who is bankrolled by billionaires who are completely compromised by the Chinese Communist Party?
Loomer: I don't think so. We've already seen on both sides of the political aisle, whether it's Ron DeSantis or Joe and Hunter Biden, how dangerous it can be when our politicians allow themselves to become slaves of corporate interests and foreign nations.
Loomer: Getting our country back on track and restoring an America first strong economy means decoupling ourselves from China.
Loomer: This is something that Ron DeSantis' hedge fund billionaire donors, people like Jeff Yass, Ken Griffin, and Doug Leone, completely opposed. And that's exactly why they are supporting Ron DeSantis as opposed to Donald Trump.
Loomer: Along with donating $5 million to Ron DeSantis' reelection campaign, Ken Griffin of Citadel received a $1 billion investment from Sequoia Capital in 2022.
Loomer: This is a considerable financial backing that helped facilitate Ken Griffin's reentry into China after an enforced exit by the Chinese Communist Party five years prior.
President Trump: Ken Griffin, Citadel. What a guy he is. Where are you Ken? Where the hell is Ken?
Loomer: And what does this mean with regards to the 2024 presidential election? Well, it means that financial powerhouses Citadel and Sequoia, along with the Chinese Communist Party, clearly have a vested interest in seeing Ron DeSantis in the White House.
Loomer: Lax trade policies with China, including a reduction or complete elimination of tariffs, means that all of these hedge fund billionaires who also happen to be GOP mega-donors will make billions of dollars on their investments and their business dealings with the Chinese Communist Party.
Loomer: And what does this mean? Well, for people like Ken Griffin and Doug Leone and Jeff Yass, it means that they're going to get richer. And for Ron DeSantis, it means that his campaign coffers are going to be flooded with millions of dollars of more donations.
Loomer: But for the average American, they're going to be left paying the ultimate price as American manufacturing and products and labor is shipped overseas to China.
Loomer: It's pretty obvious that Ron DeSantis will say and do anything if it means getting a large financial contribution from a Wall Street or hedge fund billionaire.
DeSantis: My policy was, you know, if you want to give money to me, I'll take any lawful donations.
Loomer: We've seen the financial reports and there's no reconciling the fact that he can't have his cake and eat it, too. Ron DeSantis can't be telling voters on the campaign trail that he's going to have an economic and trade policy that's tough on China and that he's going to ban TikTok for the sake of improving our national security and protecting children from predators online and then behind closed doors at his swanky fundraisers, be taking millions of dollars in donations from some of the largest investors into Bytedance, which is, of course, the parent company of TikTok.
Loomer: There's a reason why Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is being called an absolute Desaster. In fact, it's been described by many political consultants as one of the worst political rollouts in U.S. history.
Loomer: And as Ron DeSantis continues to lie through his teeth on the campaign trail and flip flop on policy positions, as I just showed you, he will continue to plummet in the polls.
Loomer: The choice is pretty clear for voters this election season. If they wish to continue to have an economic reliance on Chinese manufacturing overseas, as opposed to bringing back manufacturing here to the United States, then perhaps they should vote for Ron DeSantis. But if they wish to improve national security and have a president that's going to put America first as opposed to their rich Wall Street and hedge fund billionaire donors, as Ron DeSantis is doing, then you probably want to vote for Donald Trump, who has a tried and true proven history of being tough on China and always putting the American worker, the American manufacturer and the American family first.
Support Laura’s activism by supporting her Sponsor! Invest in precious metals like gold and silver today! Visit https://goldco.com/lauraloomer
DONATE TO SUPPORT LAURA’S INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM HERE.
https://secure.loomered.com/general-funds?sc=website
If you enjoyed this article, please SUBSCRIBE to LOOMER UNLEASHED, where I will continue to piss off the elitist political establishment by speaking the TRUTH. It is free to sign up, but paid subscriptions of $7 per month or $70 per year help keep this publication and my investigative journalism alive. So please, consider joining for a nominal fee! Thank you for your support! I truly appreciate it.
Already subscribed and want to support Loomer Unleashed further, while getting more eyes on this important information? You can gift a subscription to a friend, or simply donate free subscriptions, which are given to subscribers who cannot afford to make a paid subscription.
Share this post