
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Florida Governor Ron DeSantis likes to position himself as the alternative to President Trump. If so, then what the hell is he doing courting campaign donations from the bane of the Right, George Soros?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">True, DeSantis is not soliciting support from Soros directly, but there are reports that an upcoming NY fundraiser for DeSantis will be attended by several Wall Street bigwigs, including an executive who was tied to an investment firm funded by Soros.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The event is scheduled to take place June 29 at the swanky Yale Club, according to a copy of an invitation seen and released by CNBC. It will be one of DeSantis’ first fundraisers in the Big Apple since he officially ;launched ;his campaign for president last month.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The hosts listed on the DeSantis invitation include Paul Ardire, a partner at GoldenTree Asset Management, along with Christian Michalik, Rob Michalik, and Corwynne Carruthers, who are all leaders at Kinderhook Industries, a private equity firm with at least $5 billion in assets under management, according to data from PitchBook. GoldenTree has at least $50 billion in assets under management, PitchBook says.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One of the hosts, Christian Michalik, was a partner at Soros Private Equity Partners, a leveraged buyout fund sponsored by George Soros, according to Michalik’s corporate biography on Kinderhook’s website.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">DeSantis has taken aim at candidates financed by Soros, a Democratic megadonor. &#8220;In Florida, we&#8217;ve recognized the menace posed by left-wing prosecutors who get elected usually with big campaign contributions from people like George Soros,&#8221; he said earlier this month while on the campaign trail. So his courting of Michalik seems odd, although Michalik has donated to other Republican campaigns.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">DeSantis’ press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in a statement to CNBC who broke the invitation, &#8220;Governor DeSantis enjoys broad support, including from Disney ex-pats and even a former Soros employee who rejects the woke and embraces law and order. We will gladly utilize any contributions to oppose Soros&#8217; agenda and benefit the American people.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A spokesman for the campaign pointed to DeSantis&#8217; comments from a recent interview: &#8220;Somebody makes a campaign contribution, and you&#8217;re supposed to lay down for them? That is not how I operate. People can support me or not support me. I call them as I see them, and if you have supported me, but you&#8217;re wrong, I am going to do what&#8217;s right.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Michalik has not offered any comments or released any statements to the press. ;</p>

DeSantis Seeks Dollars From Former Soros Firm Partner
