The 2024 election post-mortem is going to be… lengthy, to say the least, with plenty of finger-pointing and Monday morning quarterbacking. In months and years to come there will be speculation and studies on what went so horribly wrong for the Democrats (and so incredibly right for the Republicans), sorting through the undoubtedly numerous factors that led to where we are today. One possible place to start would be looking at how the millionaire CEO class spent its money. Or, in the case of Disney boss Bob Iger, how he didn’t spend his money.
According to regulatory filings (via Puck News), Iger—a 2016 Hillary Clinton supporter, a 2020 Joe Biden donor, and a contributor to many of Kamala Harris’ past campaigns in California—did not donate any money to either candidate. If you wanted to know why he decided to abstain from this particularly important election, you’d have to ask him. One theory is that the Disney CEO wanted to avoid getting the company caught in more political imbroglios after finally settling the situation with Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Another theory is that Iger was intimidated out of entering the fray by once-and-future president Donald Trump‘s blanket threats to prosecute his enemies and investigate media organizations he doesn’t like.
Whatever Iger’s reasoning for his action (or inaction), it fits a pattern of behavior within the highest echelons of wealth and power in the United States that ultimately led to and even encouraged another Donald Trump presidency. In the leadup to the election, some billionaire media owners were criticized for disallowing endorsements at their newspapers, most notably at Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post. The Amazon oligarch, whose last post on Twitter/X was one of support for Trump immediately after the July assassination attempt, took to the platform on Wednesday to celebrate the president-elect. “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities,” he wrote. “Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.” At least somebody’s happy.
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