Donald Trump left Cleveland without telling anyone — and stood up a bunch of important donors
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Update July 20, 2016: After this article was published, Time retracted and corrected large portions of their original report. Here is their full correction: "The original version of this story mischaracterized the event, which was a meeting of corporate advisors. After the story was published, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign and an organizer of the group told Time that the candidate was never scheduled to attend the meeting. The Trump Leadership Council explicitly states in internal documents for its members that there is no expectation that they make political donations to Trump or the convention. The story also incorrectly described the attendees of the event and the championship record of the Cleveland Browns."
Our original article is below.
The so-called Trump Leadership Council — a group of 40 CEOs and top executives with wallets friendly to the Trump campaign — flew into Cleveland to attend the Republican National Convention, with the expectation of meeting with Donald Trump himself Tuesday morning. It turns out they were in for a rude surprise:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The group of 40 from companies such as Continental Resources, BNSF Railway, and C Spire mingled with Republican members of Congress around breakfast tables set up on one of [FirstEnergy Stadium's] concourses. The Republican representatives addressed the group, ostensibly stalling for Trump. [...] Eventually, though, the speeches ran out and Trump never showed. He had, they found out later, unexpectedly flown back to New York overnight with no word on when he might return. The group was led out to the football field, where NFL team the Cleveland Browns play, to take pictures before they were let go with no information about when and if a third meeting might take place. [Time]
Trump has struggled to get even close to Hillary Clinton's fundraising numbers, although his campaign claims the billionaire is capable of self-funding. He better be — after all, he may have just sent a message loud and clear to his donors. Read the entire scoop at Time.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Touring the vineyards of southern BoliviaThe Week Recommends Strongly reminiscent of Andalusia, these vineyards cut deep into the country’s southwest
-
American empire: a history of US imperial expansionDonald Trump’s 21st century take on the Monroe Doctrine harks back to an earlier era of US interference in Latin America
-
Elon Musk’s starry mega-mergerTalking Point SpaceX founder is promising investors a rocket trip to the future – and a sprawling conglomerate to boot
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
