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3 Big Trump Donors Are Among Business Leaders

President Donald Trump has sought and received advice on tackling the coronavirus crisis in private conversations with several of his allies in the business world, according to people familiar with the matter.

There are at least four executives Trump and his team have been in regular contact with, according to the people, who declined to be named due to the private nature of the conversations. They include Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and John Catsimatidis, CEO of New York grocery chain Gristedes. Three of the men – Ellison, Schwarzman and Catsimatidis – are big Trump donors.

The conversations have ranged from the idea of shutting down the stock market, which did not happen, to discussing the state of the U.S. economy during the pandemic.

“It is because of President Trump’s leadership and relationships that he has brought together government and private industry for an unprecedented collaboration to slow the spread of this unforeseen virus, expand testing capacities, and expedite vaccine development,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said. He did not comment directly on the president’s calls with these business leaders.