US ELECTION 2024
UFC chief Dana White, Denver Broncos and other sports organizations that support Donald Trump
With the US presidential election just days away, these are the key US sports figures and organisations that have made donations to the Trump campaign.
Next Tuesday, United States citizens go to the polls with two scenarios possible: a return to power for Donald Trump or the first term of a woman in the most powerful country in the world, with Kamala Harris taking control.
Sport has not been a silent bystander in the lead up to the elections as many organizations have donated money to the campaigns both candidates.
Trump backers
Perhaps the most high profile Donald Trump supporter in the world of sport in the US is Dana White, president of the UFC with White never shy to voice his support for the former president of the United States and has even participated in some of the rallies.
White and Trump have a long term relationship with Trump and ardent supporter of the mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation.
Due to the sport’s raw brutality, many critics, including the late U.S. Senator John McCain, attempted to get UFC events banned from cable television with McCain referred to MMA as “human cockfighting”.
“Nobody took us seriously then except Donald Trump,” White said in a 2018 interview. “I would never say anything negative about Donald Trump because he was there when other people weren’t.”
NBA Trump supporters
Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson is the leading financial backer of Donald Trump’s campaign. According to Front Office Sports, Adelson has invested about $100 million into the Preserve America political action committee backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and tens of millions more in the Republican Senate and House races.
The DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic, also invested heavily in the Republican candidate’s campaign, donating a total of $12 million.
NFL team owners who support Trump
In the case of the NFL, Denver Broncos owner and Walmart owner Rob Walton leads the way in donations to candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, with a total of $20.5 million in the current cycle.
The Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has donated a total of $2.9 million to the Republican Party. His donations went almost entirely to Haley and Chris Christie in the Republican primaries, giving about $2.4 million to the former United Nations ambassador and more than $500,000 to the former New Jersey governor. Public records show no donations from Tepper directly to Donald Trump. Cleveland Brown’s owners Dee, Jimmy and the Haslam family agreed to purchase the NFL franchise in 2012 and have reportedly donated donated $2 million to Trump.
Trump’s support from MLB
In the case of the Major League Baseball (MLB), Charles Johnson, owner of the San Francisco Giants, is the leading owner who has donated the most amount of money to the Republicans with a total of $3.2 million dollars being handed over.