Stephen Schwarzman is the founder and owner of Blackstone, the world’s largest asset manager with over one trillion USD in assets under management. Schwarzman graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1965 before attending Yale and later Harvard.

In 2004, Schwarzman donated 400,000 dollars to Abington Senior High School to build a stadium named after him, and his name can be seen prominently on the stadium’s walls. Additionally, in 2018, he made a 25 million dollar donation to the school.  Schwarzman plays a significant role in the Abington community, with his name being proudly displayed on the school district’s public high school and stadium.

In a statement with Axios, a news website, Schwarzman made his first political endorsement while expressing his support of Donald Trump. The article states and quotes the following:

“Stephen A. Schwarzman — chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, the private equity and real estate giant — tells Axios he will support Donald Trump as a “vote for change.””

Axios is told Schwarzman’s concern about rising antisemitism sped his decision to re-embrace Trump, along with concerns about President Biden’s policies.

“The dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency,” he says in a statement to Axios.

“I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction. For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for President. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket.”

After Republicans’ disastrous midterm performance (in 2022), Axios broke the news that Schwarzman was searching for a next-generation candidate in 2024.

“America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday,” Schwarzman said in November 2022. “It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries.

Schwarzman’s endorsement of Trump as a presidential candidate in the 2024 election reflects poorly on the school district and can only be described as unprofessional. The Abingtonian’s staff attempted to reach out to Mr. Schwarzman to conduct an interview and get a better understanding of his perspective, but we received the following message:

“Dear [REDACTED],

I oversee Corporate Affairs at Blackstone. Mr. Schwarzman’s office passed along your request.  Unfortunately, I need to politely decline on his behalf. Mr. Schwarzman is not giving political interviews.

Mr. Schwarzman put considerable thought into his decision and statement to Axios and would prefer to let those words stand.

We are sorry to disappoint, and hope you’ll understand.

Regards,

Christine Anderson”

Our interview was declined, and we were told Schwarzman would like his words in his political interview to stand due to the considerable thought that went into his decision. So, we will be taking a look at these words which took Schwarzman a supposed considerable amount of time and effort yet still manage to be extremely contradictory.

After years of not supporting presidential candidates, Schwarzman backed Trump when saying, “I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration, and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction. For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for President. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket.” However, former president Donald Trump was impeached twice, tried to overthrow a free and fair election, and was found guilty of 34 felony counts. Schwarzman’s decision to publicly back a criminal while preaching the need for positive change in the country is not only hypocritical but negatively represents ASHS. 

In his statement to Axios, Schwarzman says, “The dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency.” However, this can only be described as perplexing when he’s backing a candidate who has praised Hitler’s actions. John Kelly, the Trump administration’s former chief of staff, shared in an interview with the New York Times that Trump said, “You know, Hitler did some good things too,” more than once. Kelly also shares that Trump wished his generals were like Hitler’s generals and mindlessly listened to him. By Kelly’s judgment, Trump fits the definition of a fascist and has no understanding of the American constitution or law. Furthermore, thirteen lifelong Republicans who were also a part of the Trump administration, have recently supported Kelly’s warning, “There are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments.” 

While Schwarzman claims to vote for change, he interestingly supports a candidate who wants to limit aspects of our natural rights listed in the Constitution. NPR writes that, “Trump has pledged to toss reporters in jail and strip major television networks of their broadcast licenses as retribution for coverage he didn’t like.” Trump undermines the importance of freedom of speech, an aspect of democracy present throughout American history, highlighting his autocratic intentions and ideals.

Schwarzman’s logic is anything but sensible, and by neglecting to elaborate, he dishonors the community to which he so willingly pledged his name. By endorsing a candidate with a criminal and discriminatory history, Schwarzman is misrepresenting a school of students and faculty with diverse opinions and stances. While everyone is free to support whatever political figure they see fit for them, someone as powerful and influential as Schwarzman is obliged to provide reasoning when making statements so divisive, no matter what side he stands for. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_A._Schwarzman 

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/24/trump-2024-stephen-schwarzman-blackstone 

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/22/nx-s1-5161480/trump-media-threats-abc-cbs-60-minutes-journalists 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/us/politics/trump-officials-letter-fascist-john-kelly.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html