Billionaire hedge funder Bill Ackman says the Democratic Party is in the worst form in its historical past – and thinks doubtless 2028 presidential contenders like Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are “disasters.”
On a Tuesday episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Ackman said there are some spectacular Democratic members of Congress, but insisted the social gathering as a entire has fallen into shambles.
“I think the Democratic Party is in the worst place it’s ever been. In the 250-year history of the country,” the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management said.
“I think it’s become like this crazy, radicalized, you know, anti-American thing.”
Billionaire Bill Ackman (above) said the Democratic Party is in the worst form of the nation’s 250-year historical past. Bloomberg via Getty Images
He zeroed in on Democratic politicians who, he said, have been bending the knee to more excessive social gathering members — particularly jabbing at New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority chief.
“I think the problem with people who’ve chosen to be a politician for a career, you either have to get with the party in order to continue or you get primaried,” Ackman said.
“Sen. Schumer, I had a good relationship with him over the years. I thought he was a good man. But in recent years, I felt he’s just trying to keep his job. And, you know, that’s the really low point for politicians, when they’ll compromise on their values,” he added.
“And they’ll support, you know, a quasi-terrorist perhaps running for Senate in Michigan because they have to for the party. Stuff like that to me is – or terrorist supporter – I find that pretty, deeply concerning.”
He was seemingly nodding to far-leftist Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. His GOP opponent, Mike Rogers, has sought to hyperlink El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, a terror-designated Islamist group.
El-Sayed has since denounced the group, though his organic mother was an activist for the Muslim Brotherhood, according to a social-media post from her daughter, El-Sayed’s half-sister.
Ackman said he has some mates in the Democratic Party, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker – but that he can’t think of a single candidate who could win his vote in the 2028 presidential election.
Katie Miller (left) interviews Bill Ackman (proper) on her podcast. The Katie Miller Podcast
“I probably have as many, if not more, friends who are Democrats than Republicans. But, you know, I haven’t seen a good presidential candidate – certainly none of the names, you know — Pritzker, Newsom,” Ackman said. “I think these are, you know, disasters.”
At one level, when Katie Miller – spouse of high Trump aide Stephen Miller and a former aide at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency – referred to Ackman as a reformed “lifelong Democrat,” the billionaire shortly pushed back.
“I wasn’t a lifelong – see, this is what you’re getting wrong,” Ackman said. “So, I was always a centrist. I didn’t align with a social gathering. But in New York City, if you need to vote in an election like where it’s going to matter, like the major, you have to register.
Ackman called potential 2028 contenders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (above) “disasters.” AFP via Getty Images
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is also seen as a 2028 contender. Getty Images
“I was an independent, and then there was an important election. I registered as a Democrat to vote for whomever, I don’t remember who, and then I, you know, hadn’t checked my registration in years kind of thing.”
Ackman has a long historical past of donating to distinguished Democrats, including former President Barack Obama. More not too long ago, he donated hundreds of {dollars} to GOP-backed PACs and supported former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s failed bid to defeat New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Ackman initially congratulated Mamdani on his mayoral win, but later bashed the mayor’s insurance policies as “very bad for New York.”
The moneyman particularly lambasted a rent freeze on almost 1 million flats, which he argued could discourage investment and worsen the metropolis’s housing scarcity.
He also tore into Mamdani for filming a viral video about his pied-à-terre tax outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse, warning the new mayor could drive business leaders and their investments out of the metropolis.
