Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley, announced in an X post that he will be donating $300,000 to former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign after he was convicted of several felonies in a heavily biased trial in New York City.
“Back in 2016 I had drunk the media Kool-Aid and was scared out of my mind about Trump. As such I donated to Hilary Clinton’s campaign and voted for her. By 2020 I was disillusioned and didn’t vote – I didn’t like either option,” Maguire wrote in an X article. “Now, in 2024, I believe this is one of the most important elections of my lifetime, and I’m supporting Trump.”
Maguire acknowledged that his decision will likely come as a shock and produce anger amongst his friends and colleagues. “I refuse to live in a society where people are afraid to speak,” he wrote.
After explaining how much “kool aid” he consumed in the past, including the “Russian collusion” hoax, Maguire stated that he could no longer support Biden after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. “I’m not going to go into all of the details here, but this was personal for me — as it was for anyone that served in Afghanistan. Most have the wrong impression of what happened there,” he said.
Maguire concluded his editorial by announcing that he will be making a massive, $300,000 contribution to Trump’s presidential campaign.
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) May 30, 2024
Not long after Maguire made his announcement, former U.S. Rep. and key Trump ally Lee Zeldin announced that he had secured another mammoth donation to the campaign.
“Just secured a $800k donation from someone for President Trump’s Joint Fundraising Committee. Never experienced a massive ask that easy,” Zeldin announced.
Just secured a $800k donation from someone for President Trump’s Joint Fundraising Committee. Never experienced a massive ask that easy.
— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) May 30, 2024
Donations have also poured in from small donors in the hours following the historic verdict, causing both Trump’s campaign site, and the main site for GOP fundraising platform WinRed, to crash.
“It was a rigged trial, it was a disgrace,” Trump declared outside the courtroom. “The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. They know what happened here. I am a very innocent man,” he continued, adding that he plans to immediately file an appeal.