9/20/16, "After Failing in Costly Anti-Trump Effort, Ameritrade Founder Joe Ricketts to Back Nominee," Wall St. Journal, Brody Mullins, Rebecca Ballhaus
"Few Republicans have done as much to fight the presidential campaign of Donald Trump than Joe Ricketts and his family.
But
in a stunning turnaround, Mr. Ricketts has now decided to endorse Mr.
Trump, and plans to donate at least $1 million to help him win the
presidency in November.
The founder of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.
had donated millions of dollars to help Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker’s failed bid to defeat Mr. Trump at the start of the Republican
primary. When Mr. Trump prevailed, Mr. Ricketts and his wife poured
nearly $6 million into an anti-Trump super PAC....
A political adviser to Mr. Ricketts said many factors led to his
change of heart. One was the realization that with just weeks remaining
until Election Day, Mr. Trump remains within striking distance of
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“The Ricketts decided they could not sit back and watch Hillary Clinton become the next president of the United States,” said Brian Baker,
a longtime political strategist for Mr. Ricketts. “Even though the
Ricketts supported other candidates during the primary, they believe it
is time to unite behind the nominees … This is all about helping
Republicans win in the fall.”
The super PAC also aims to erase
Mrs. Clinton’s huge advantage over Mr. Trump in television advertising.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has aired nearly 115,000 TV ad spots since
mid-June, compared to 20,000 aired by the Trump campaign, according to
the Center for Public Integrity. Mr. Trump didn’t begin running TV ads
until mid-August—unusually late in a general-election campaign.
News that Mr. Ricketts and fellow billionaire Sheldon Adelson planned to donate to Mr. Trump’s campaign surfaced Monday. Mr. Ricketts’s change in plans is one of the more remarkable reversals in an election campaign made up of remarkable reversals....
The Ricketts family also owns the Chicago Cubs and a son, Pete, is the governor of Nebraska....
In May, Pete Ricketts, the Nebraska governor, endorsed Mr. Trump."...
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