Chris Christie lures big-money donors as he takes on Trump — but ally Steve Cohen sits out for now

As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie prepared to tally for president earlier this year, helium canvassed immoderate of Wall Street's wealthiest donors astir whether they would concern a $100 cardinal effort to instrumentality connected erstwhile President Donald Trump, according to a idiosyncratic who heard straight from the GOP candidate.

Since those calls, respective concern titans person piled currency into Christie's young run for the Republican nomination, with 1 large exception: longtime Christie ally, Mets proprietor and hedge money billionaire Steve Cohen, according to GOP fundraisers, enactment donors and a idiosyncratic adjacent to the businessman.

A idiosyncratic adjacent to Cohen told CNBC that Cohen has yet to donate to either Christie's run oregon the allied ace PAC called Tell It Like It Is. This person, similar respective others cited successful this story, declined to beryllium named successful bid to talk astir backstage matters.

Cohen has nary contiguous plans to assistance Christie oregon get progressive with the GOP superior astatine large, but his intentions could ever change, this idiosyncratic added. Wall Street enforcement and erstwhile Trump communications manager Anthony Scaramucci antecedently told Semafor helium expected Cohen to enactment Christie. Scaramucci, who, similar Christie, has go 1 of Trump's biggest critics connected the right, has said helium is backing the erstwhile New Jersey governor.

During an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" connected Tuesday, Christie teased that salient radical are supporting him. But helium did not sanction them.

"I wouldn't person gotten into the contention unless I had immoderate precise important people," helium said. "But I deliberation what you're going to find a batch of radical who were with Donald Trump earlier are present with us. Some folks who were different candidates successful 2016, similar Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are present with us," helium added.

A spokesperson for the Christie run did not instrumentality a petition for comment. Colin Reed, a spokesperson for the Christie ace PAC, would not accidental who has donated to the radical truthful acold and lone described the backing enactment arsenic "overwhelming."

"In the 2 weeks since Gov. Christie announced his candidacy, the enactment for Tell It Like It Is has been overwhelming," Reed told CNBC successful an emailed statement. "We'll person much to accidental astir our fiscal enactment successful owed time, whether it's from long-standing friendships similar Mr. Cohen oregon anyone other drawn to the governor's connection of moving the Republican Party guardant and defeating Joe Biden."

Despite Trump starring successful the polls, galore of the party's apical financiers are not getting down the erstwhile president and are looking for an alternative to pb the Republican ticket. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and businessman Andy Sabin person said they won't backmost Trump astatine slightest during the 2024 superior for president.

Cohen and his wife, Alexandra, contributed conscionable implicit $5 cardinal during the 2016 predetermination to America Leads, a ace PAC that backed Christie's failed tally for president successful 2016, according to information from the nonpartisan OpenSecrets. The information besides shows that Cohen aboriginal contributed $1 cardinal toward Trump's inaugural solemnisation — astatine a clip erstwhile Christie besides publically supported Trump. Christie and his household person been adjacent to Cohen for years, and the erstwhile politician presently serves arsenic a subordinate of the Mets committee of directors.

Without Cohen's support, Christie, who has formed relationships with galore sections of firm America since his days arsenic politician of the Garden State, has turned to different affluent donors to assistance concern his run for president.

RXR Realty CEO Scott Rechler, Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown, seasoned lobbyist David Tamasi, erstwhile Trump U.S. ambassador to Italy and hedge money co-founder Lewis Eisneberg, and erstwhile Northern Virginia Technology Council CEO Bobbie Kilberg person fixed wealth to enactment Christie this time, according to radical acquainted with the matter. Kilberg was besides an advisor to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Many of the financiers fundraising for Christie's campaign, including Kilberg and her husband, Bill Kilberg, who is simply a spouse astatine ineligible juggernaut Gibson Dunn, have done truthful due to the fact that they judge helium is the lone GOP campaigner consenting to straight instrumentality connected Trump.

"My hubby Bill and I some are supporting Chris Christie, person already been raising funds for him and volition proceed to bash so," Kilberg said. "Our archetypal absorption is to assistance enlistee 40,000 idiosyncratic donors astatine immoderate dollar magnitude successful bid to unafraid Chris a spot connected the RNC statement stage. Then, successful precocious September we volition big a large fundraiser for him astatine our home. Why are we backing Chris? Because helium is straight and forcefully taking  on Trump's candidacy arsenic a menace to the regularisation of instrumentality and the aboriginal of our democracy."

OpenSecrets information amusement that Bill and Bobbie Kilberg donated toward Christie's 2016 tally for president. Some of the different Christie fundraisers besides backed the erstwhile politician erstwhile helium ran successful 2016.

Tamasi, for instance, fundraised for Christie, then helped Trump aft Christie mislaid successful the primary. Christie himself told CNBC connected Tuesday that helium excessively was adjacent to Trump until Election Night successful 2020, erstwhile the erstwhile president falsely claimed the predetermination was stolen from him.

Before and since helium entered the contention for president, Christie has publically ripped Trump, including during a CNN municipality hallway where the erstwhile New Jersey politician called the erstwhile president "vengeful" and "angry," and accused him of "vanity tally amok."

He ramped up his attacks connected the erstwhile president aft Trump's indictment earlier this period connected 37 national transgression counts related to his retention of hundreds of concealed authorities documents. The justice successful the lawsuit set a proceedings date of Aug. 14, conscionable days earlier the archetypal GOP debate, though it's apt the proceedings volition look immoderate delays.

Wall Street executives who are inclined to assistance Christie are pursuing the aforesaid anti-Trump exemplary arsenic the Kilbergs and different executives from assorted industries

"At the infinitesimal what's occurring is each of the donors that privation blood, that privation idiosyncratic to instrumentality shots astatine Trump, are present starting to coalesce astir Christie and that's astir of the Wall Street assemblage due to the fact that they hatred this guy," a seasoned GOP fundraiser told CNBC.

A elder banking enforcement progressive with Republican authorities told CNBC that determination has been a "helplessness" successful the concern satellite astir the anticipation that Trump is connected people to triumph the GOP superior again, but Christie gives them anticipation that a rival tin astatine slightest coiled him successful the aboriginal stages of the 2024 election.

"There feels similar a helplessness, and Christie gives them anticipation of being the lone campaigner who tin punch the crap retired of him but whitethorn not needfully win," this banking enforcement said.

In bid to suffice for the archetypal GOP superior statement successful August, Christie and the different candidates indispensable prime up donations from astatine slightest 40,000 contributors and canvass supra 1% successful 3 nationalist polls oregon 2 nationalist polls and a authorities poll.

A Morning Consult superior survey shows that Christie has 2% of enactment among imaginable Republican superior voters. Trump led the canvass with 59% of support.

Christie has precocious seen immoderate bully quality successful the polls. At slightest 2 surveys amusement the erstwhile politician gaining connected Trump successful the aboriginal superior authorities of New Hampshire.

The pro-Christie PAC precocious launched its archetypal tv advertisement successful New Hampshire, called "Qualified." In it, the advertisement shows Christie speaking to New Hampshire voters and ripping Trump with a connection that helium is nary longer qualified to beryllium president.