Republican Hedge Fund Billionaire Slams Trump: 'He’s a Divisive Human Being Who Belongs in Jail'

Former president Donald Trump continues to attract criticism for his actions in his term. In the list of his detractors, the latest is hedge-fund billionaire Leon Cooperman, who slammed the former president in his comments alleging that it would be “terrible for the country” if Donald Trump came back to power in 2024. “It would be terrible for the country if Donald Trump were reelected,” Cooperman told CNN in a phone interview. “He’s a divisive human being who belongs in jail.”

Cooperman, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $2.8 billion, is well-known for exchanging barbs with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over the latter's wealth tax proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign, per HuffPost. In 2012, he gained notoriety for his divisive remarks on Barack Obama, which stemmed from his criticism of the president's tax policies.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, Cooperman, now 80, has primarily donated to Republican political committees and candidates for all of his life. Most recently, he chose to contribute to Chris Christie's presidential campaign, one of the strongest Trump detractors among the GOP candidates in the 2024 presidential elections.

The Jewish businessman recently made headlines when he declared that Columbia University would no longer receive donations from him in response to the pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus following Israel's counter-attack after a deadly attack by Hamas left 1,400 Israelis dead, per 1945 magazine. Israel is under fire by criticism over their human rights offensives against Palestine since October 7, which have claimed over 3,500 children's lives. Over the years, Cooperman has contributed over $50 million to the prestigious school but chose not to after the school students' stance on Israel.

The billionaire, in defense of his donation to Christie's campaign, referred to Biden and Trump as "bad choices." Rather than someone on the “radical” Left or the “far” Right, he prefers a “Centrist”. Cooperman has previously criticized Trump. He claimed he would be "richer tomorrow if Trump wins" when he told CNBC in 2020 that he supported President Joe Biden because “I voted my values and not my pocketbook. I'd richer tomorrow if Trump wins. I’ll probably be poorer tomorrow if Biden wins.”

He described Trump as a “would-be dictator” with “no allegiance to anybody but himself” on a podcast last year, adding that he only “very reluctantly” supported Biden. The Trump team defended the front-runner of the GOP by brushing off Cooperman's jail remarks. In a statement to CNN, the Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump “will be the nominee and will beat Biden because he’s the only person who can supercharge the economy, secure our border, safeguard communities and put an end to unnecessary wars,” referring to the present strife between Israel and Palestine. Cheung further added, that “Americans want to return to a prosperous nation,” and as per the Trump campaign, “there’s only one person who can do that – President Trump.