As he continues to skyrocket into becoming the GOP presidential candidate, Donald Trump says that he and the Club for Growth are “back in love.”
The former President told Club for Growth donors last week that he and the organization’s President, David McIntosh, are now “back in love” after a protracted breakup.
Trump’s decision to speak at the Club for Growth retreat represents the latest step in their reconciliation after a bitter feud that led the organization to wage an effort last year to stop him from winning the Republican presidential primary. But last month, Trump and McIntosh had dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and Trump flew with McIntosh to a campaign event in South Carolina.
“We had an argument about a couple of people that you know well, and that broke us up for about a year,” he said, according to a person in the room granted anonymity to share details of the private event. “And then we had one that we mutually agreed on, which was surprising to people — a good candidate, however, who is going to win. And then we did a couple of others. And now we’re back in love; we’re deeply in love.”
During the 2022 election, Trump and the Club for Growth parted ways in the Ohio Senate primary, where the former President supported J.D. Vance, who ultimately won, and the group backed rival Josh Mandel. Then, after Trump kicked off his presidential campaign, the Club for Growth launched an anti-Trump affiliate that was focused on tearing Trump down in early primary states. The organization, Win it Back PAC, ended up spending nearly $7 million. But it suspended its advertising offensive last fall after it became clear it wasn’t having success.
Trump noted that Republican megadonor and Club for Growth benefactor Jeff Yass, in addition to McIntosh, had called him and asked him to speak at the retreat. Should Trump win over Yass — whom Trump described as “fantastic” — it would potentially be a major financial boost to his campaign.
During the speech, Trump joked that McIntosh and Yass “gave me a lot of notice — like two hours” when they asked him to appear. “And I just came in, and I have a group of about 40 people over at Mar-a-Lago just to show you how important you are. I said, ‘I’m going to leave you guys for a little while. I’m going over to The Breakers to make a speech.'”