There will not be a fundraiser for the Trump campaign at the upcoming F1 Miami Grand Prix.
According to a report in the Washington Post, the organizers of the race sent a letter to a well-known Trump ally denying him use of his suite to fund raise for the former president who is running for reelection this year.
Steven Witkoff is a longtime friend of Trump. He testified in the civil fraud trial for Trump that recently resulted in a New York judge ruling against Trump and fining him $350 million. The Post reports that Witkoff, who owns an exclusive South Florida golf club, invited members to an exclusive weekend at the race that included a helicopter trip. The $250,000 price tag didn’t specifically mention it was a fundraiser, but the organizers of the race seemed to have enough evidence to indicate otherwise and informed Witkoff of their decision Friday.
“It has come to our attention that you may be using your Paddock Club Rooftop Suite for a political purpose, namely raising money for a federal election at $250,000 per ticket, which clearly violates the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix suite license agreement,” read the letter, a copy of which was posted online. “If this is true, we regret to inform you that your suite license will be revoked, you will not be allowed to attend the race at any time, and we will refund you in full.”
The Post reached out to Witkoff Friday evening. “This is something fake, for sure,” he said and declined to comment further.
It’s unclear if Trump will still attend the event, though the Post reports that the secret service has reached out to race organizers to coordinate a visit.
Friday’s Miami fundraiser refusal was the second of the day for the Trump campaign. According to Racer magazine the IndyCar series on Friday denied a request from an unnamed team to run a paint scheme that would have featured both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump.
“IndyCar does not approve sponsorships associated with elected officials, candidates for political office or political action committees,” an IndyCar spokesperson told RACER.
The Miami denial isn’t the first time Trump supporters have run afoul of Formula 1. In 2018 Santino Ferrucci driving for the Haas F1 team at the time, had a Trump-themed livery rejected for his Formula 2 car by the series.
While he was president, Trump famously visited Daytona International Speedway and gave the command to start the engines for NASCAR’s season opening Daytona 500 in 2020. The race was delayed twice by rain that day and eventually forced to move to Monday.
I have been around and written about the sport of NASCAR for over three decades and previously worked fulltime for the Sporting News and Scripps-Howard News Service. I am also a contributor to two Chicken Soup for the Soul books including the NASCAR edition, published in 2010 and the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers’ Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing.” I am a multiple National Motorsports Press Association award winner. Early in life I spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community serving in support of Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm and ended my military career in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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