Democratic Wall Street donors can support Trump if Warren is named

Democratic Wall Street donors and corporations are gearing up to skip the presidential campaign fundraising cycle – or even supporting President Donald Trump – if Senator Elizabeth Warren wins the party nomination.

Over the last few weeks, CNBC has been talking to several donors and Democratic fundraisers in the business community and has found that this view is becoming widely shared, while Warren, a critic of the big banks and large companies, gain ground against Joe Biden in the 2020 race.

"You're in a box because, you're a democrat and you think," I want to help the party, but it's going to hurt me, so I'm going to help President Trump, "said a senior official. who refused to be named.

During the election campaign, Warren introduced several plans to limit Wall Street's influence, including a wealth tax. In July, it issued a proposal to make private equity companies more accountable for the debts and pension obligations of the companies they buy. Trump, on the other hand, has given a boost to wealthy business owners through a significant reduction in corporate taxes and the elimination of regulations.

Warren vowed to take part in major fundraisers for the 2020 presidential primary. She also promised not to receive donations from special interest groups. It finished raising at least $ 19 million in the second quarter, mainly through small donors. The third quarter ends on Monday.

At the same time, Trump has collected hundreds of millions of dollars, which puts any potential rival by 2020, as shown by about 20 Democrats for the nomination of their party.

The Trump campaign, in conjunction with the Republican National Committee, raised more than $ 100 million in the second quarter. Much of this traffic comes from wealthy donors who donated to their joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory. In August, the RNC collected just over $ 23 million and has $ 53 million.

The Democratic National Committee struggled to keep pace with the RNC. The DNC ended the month of August with $ 7.9 million and a debt of $ 7.2 million.

Biden, who has courted and garnered support from a variety of wealthy donors, has begun to fall behind in some polls. The latest Quinnipiac poll has Warren, a US Senator from Massachusetts, tied with Biden, a former vice president. Biden was one of three contenders for an influx of contributions from those on Wall Street in the second quarter.

A spokeswoman for Warren declined to comment.

The corporate malaise with Warren's candidacy has increased as his campaign has grown. Jim Cramer, of CNBC, said earlier this month that he had been informed by Wall Street officials that they thought Warren had to be "arrested". Warren later tweeted his response to Cramer's report: "I am Elizabeth Warren and I approve this message."

Some big bank executives and hedge fund managers have been stunned by the rise of Warren and they are ready to resist him.

"They will not support it, it would be like shutting down their industry," CNBC told a senior executive at one of the country's largest banks. This person said his policy could be worse for Wall Street than those signed by President Barack Obama, who signed the Dodd-Frank banking regulation bill in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

However, prior to Obama's election, his campaign had brought over $ 1 million to Goldman Sachs employees, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

A hedge fund manager invoked Trump's tax cut to explain why his colleagues would not contribute or vote for Warren if she won the nomination.

"I think if she can show that the 2017 tax code is fundamentally absurd and only helps businesses, Wall Street would not like the public to think about it," said the executive.