(HAMPTONS, NY) — President Donald Trump was in the Hamptons last Friday.
Howard Lorber, the chief executive officer of the Vector Group and the executive chairman of Nathan’s Famous Inc., hosted a fundraiser to benefit Trump Victory, a joint committee for Trump’s 2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Trump and Lorber are best friends, and in 1996, the two traveled to Moscow together to explore business opportunities. Lorber went on to serve as an economic adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump also appointed him chairman of the board of trustees for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
Around 60 people attended the fundraiser at Lorber’s Southampton home, including Jared Kushner, John Catsimatidis and his son, Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Over the course of the evening, Trump held a discussion with a small group of people and then moved on to a tent in Lorber’s yard to speak to the larger audience over dinner.
During the fundraiser, Trump made remarks to private Republican donors about his disapproval of Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell. Powell has raised rates five times since Trump took office, including twice this year. Trump said he expected Powell to be a “cheap-money Fed chairman.”
Back in July, Trump said he was “not thrilled” with the rate increases, and made it clear on Friday that his stance has not changed. His remarks broke a more than two-decade-old norm of presidents avoiding comments on monetary policy out of respect for the Fed’s independence.
As for the fundraiser, around $3 million was raised for the Trump Victory Committee. Lorber has reportedly donated around $235,000 to the campaign since 2016.
