ML-Implode News - Trump's Chief Fundraiser Schmoozes Hedge Fund Execs, Seeking Donations

Fresh off being named Donald Trump's chief fundraiser, longtime financier Steven Mnuchin headed to Las Vegas for the nation's largest hedge fund conference with one task: target elite donors to raise the $1 billion the candidate seeks for his general election campaign. From the first day of the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference, or SALT, attendees roaming the conferences and halls of the Bellagio hotel traded sightings of Trump's representatives mingling with the crowd of hedge fund managers and investors. There were even whispers that Trump might show up himself.
On Wednesday night, Mnuchin, a hedge fund manager at Dune Capital, wearing a dark tailored suit, dined with former House speaker John Boehner, billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin, and former CIA director David H. Petraeus--a gathering hosted by Anthony Scaramucci, hedge funder and SALT organizer.
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Mnuchin also reportedly met with former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, and cosmetic business exec Georgette Mosbacher. The attitude from the financial industry was a lot more welcoming than in February, when Luke Thorburn, the sole Goldman Sachs employee who donated to the Trump campaign ($534.58), was put on leave due to his association with a website that sold hats that tweaked Trump's "Make America Great" catchphrase.

Despite all of the handshaking and potential money-passing, support for Trump at the conference felt shaky. Pro-Trump comments were often met with awkward silences from the crowd--and even gasps. Pickens's support for Trump's ban on Muslims in the U.S. for vetting purposes drew loud gasps from the crowd.

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Trump's Chief Fundraiser Schmoozes Hedge Fund Execs, Seeking Donations