Billionaire activist investor Nelson Petrz plans to vote for President Donald Trump, citing concerns about President Biden’s “really scary mental health,” according to a report Tuesday.
Mr. Peltz, who like Mr. Biden is 81, said his concerns about President Biden’s mental health were greater than his concerns about Mr. Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s probably going to be Trump, but I’m not happy about that,” he said. He spoke in an interview with the Financial Times. about the 77-year-old Republican front-runner in Palm Beach, Florida.
The founder of $10 billion investment firm Trian Partners also cited concerns about increased immigration from the United States under the Biden administration, saying the country is “degrading.”
Mr. Peltz may vote for Mr. Trump, but has not yet decided whether he will support Mr. Trump financially.
He also told the outlet he had not spoken to Trump, his Palm Beach neighbor, “in quite some time.”
The billionaire donated more than $300,000 to Republican candidates and groups in 2023 and more than $600,000 to Republican candidates and conservatives in 2022, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
At the same time, Peltz voted for Democrats Bill Clinton in 1996 and Al Gore in 2000, and gave money to Democrats in 2022.
“I’m not one of those crazy people who’s a Republican or whatever,” Peltz said.
Peltz, a former Trump critic, is returning to the former president’s camp after defeating his Republican opponent in the presidential primary and calling on Republican donors to unite behind him.
Mr. Peltz, who is currently embroiled in a proxy fight with Disney, said Mr. Trump’s change in attitude stems in part from concerns about Mr. Biden’s suitability for the presidency.
“I don’t know what he knows, and I don’t know what he doesn’t know,” Peltz said of Biden. “I don’t know who is speaking for him and that worries me.”
Peltz told the FT that the “series of criminal charges against the former president, including cases related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election,” were a “miscarriage of justice,” which led to Trump He said he is likely to vote.
Peltz supported Trump in 2020, but spoke to CNBC the day after the U.S. Capitol riot. He said he was “sorry” for supporting the former president.
Peltz said at the time that Trump’s role in inciting insurrectionary violence and trying to overturn the election results had “irreparably damaged his legacy.”
“I said I regret voting for him because the Capitol is a sacred place to me and the last time someone attacked the White House was the British in 1812.” Peltz told the FT. “And I thought that was pretty bad. I was convinced at the time that Trump might have incited it.”
Mr. Peltz ran in Tim Scott’s presidential primary last year, but the South Carolina senator withdrew from the race and endorsed Mr. Trump.
Before resigning, he also considered supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a presidential candidate.
Peltz also cited concerns about immigration as a reason for supporting Trump.
Republicans have been attacking the president for months over the proliferation of U.S.-Mexico border crossings, and Trump said in a recent speech that immigrants “taint the blood” of the country.
“We can’t keep everyone in this country. . . . We have an immigration problem — it’s not a Republican or Democratic problem,” Peltz said.
“The United States shouldn’t stop immigration, but at least we should have borders so we know who we’re letting in,” he told the FT.
The United States remains strong but “deteriorating,” he added.
