Jailed former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried considered paying former US President Donald Trump to not run for re-election in 2020, according to an excerpt of a forthcoming book published on Sunday, October 1. in the Washington Post, Michael Lewis, the author of “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon”, said Bankman-Fried at the time was planning to give $15 million to $30 million to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to defeat the “Trumpier” candidates in the Senate races.
“His team had somehow created a back channel into the Trump operation and returned with the not terribly Earth-shattering news that Donald Trump might indeed have his price: $5 billion. Or so Sam was told by his team.” Mark Botnick, a spokesperson for Bankman-Fried, declined to comment on the excerpt, while representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.