Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is stepping up his support for 2024 Republican hopeful Chris Christie.
Yang, who several months ago announced on social media he gave money to Christie’s campaign to help the former New Jersey governor qualify for the most recent GOP debate, attended a Christie fundraiser on Wednesday in New York City, raking in more than $100,000 in campaign cash, FOX Business has confirmed.
Christie remains far behind former President Donald Trump in national polls along with other candidates vying to be the GOP presidential nominee and run against President Biden in November 2024. But after raising $6 million from Wall Street donors, real estate execs and supporters like Yang, Christie is also expected to qualify for the second debate sponsored by FOX Business on Sept. 27 at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.
Wednesday's fundraiser was sponsored by Anthony Scaramucci, a hedge fund executive and once one of the top GOP bundlers of campaign cash. Scaramucci served briefly as Trump’s communications chief; he has since been a vocal critic of the former president and the populist side of the GOP agenda, though he has been supporting Christie’s bid.
Like the "Mooch," Christie has been the most vocal GOP critic of Trump, publicly admonishing him as unfit for office, particularly after his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of the former president stormed the Capitol. It was a theme he pounded home during a speech at Wednesday's fundraiser that took place at the Hunt & Fish Club restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Scaramucci is an investor in the popular eatery.
Christie, despite decent fundraising numbers, remains far behind Trump in the polls. He has been gaining of late in the race for No. 2, particularly in early primary state polls. The latest Emerson College tally shows Trump polling nationally at 47%, well ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who comes in at 12%. Billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is at 7%. Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley polled at 5%.
Yang is an entrepreneur and lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 2020. He generated decent media buzz for his unconventional stances supporting universal basic income, but is considered a centrist on many issues. He formally left the Democratic Party in 2021 to start the Forward Party with another former Republican New Jersey governor, Christine Todd Whitman.
Its planks include ending what Yang has called the country's partisan divide and election reform.
In June, he announced on the social media platform Twitter, now called X: "I’m considering donating to Chris Christie’s campaign just to get him on the debate stage against Trump. He’s doing a better job making the case against him than any other candidate."
It's unclear how much he donated to Christie so far. The Wednesday night event charged a minimum of $1,000 to attend and $3,000 to have a photo taken with Christie. In a brief interview, Scaramucci told FOX Business he wasn't sure if Yang gave money to attend and was invited by the Christie campaign.
Yang and the Christie campaign didn’t immediately return calls for comment.
Christie in his speech attacked Trump on his foreign policy agenda and said he was horrible in protecting Ukraine from Russian aggression, and that Biden is only a bit better. He went on to blame Biden for the unfolding humanitarian crisis as migrants from Central and South America flood into American cities.
Sources at the event say it was attended by many of Scaramucci's Wall Street contacts including veteran hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman. Christie's remarks on Ukraine and migrants struck a chord with the attendees; many Wall Street GOP types are at odds with the populist side of the party that is questioning unlimited U.S. aid to Ukraine as its war with Russia drags on into its second year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in New York City meeting with diplomats and financiers this week after addressing the U.N. General Assembly.
Meanwhile, midtown Manhattan, where many hedge funds and financial firms are headquartered, has been inundated with migrants after New York City Mayor Eric Adams converted the Roosevelt Hotel into a migrant housing center.
