The Republican Party is slowly, warily embracing Donald Trump as its nominee.
T. Boone Pickens, the prominent billionaire investor who made his fortune on fossil fuels, backed Trump at an economic convention in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Pickens said he was sick of “politicians” and expressed support for Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
He appeared to criticize Trump in a blog post he wrote last December, when he lamented that America has “turned our presidential selection process into a reality TV show.” Trump starred on his own reality TV show for many years and Pickens was supporting Jeb Bush at the time.
Pickens also donated to the campaigns of Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina.
He doesn’t appear to have resolved his concerns about Trump, but Pickens says he doesn’t mind rolling the dice since he’ll be dead soon.
And should a Trump presidency not work out, Mr. Pickens said he isn’t overly concerned.
“I’m ready to take a chance on it,” the 87-year-old said. “And just in case it’s a mistake, [I’ll] be gone.”
Pickens did not detail the backup plan for Americans with a longer life expectancy.
His position mirrors that of former candidate Marco Rubio. During the campaign, Rubio explicitly stated that Trump should not be trusted with the codes to America’s nuclear weapons. Specifically, Rubio said Trump was a “lunatic trying to get nuclear weapons.”
Yesterday, Rubio said he stood by his criticisms but would support Trump anyway.