Iconic Texas billionaire and principal of BP Capital Management, T. Boone Pickens, offered his full-throated support for presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposal to temporarily block Muslims from entry to the United States. Pickens also made clear his intent to support the New York billionaire’s bid for the White House in a financial sense.
“I’m not saying it’s permanent, but I’d cut off all the Muslims from coming into the United States until we could vet these people and see,” the hedge fund manager noted at the annual SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference, according to the New York Post. Pickens added that he admitted to Trump his prior support of Governor Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina had switched to the likely nominee: “‘I’m not supporting them anymore.’ So I said, ‘I’m on board,’ and we laughed.”
The infamous proposal to ban foreign Muslim entry to the United States came shortly after the terrorist shootings in San Bernardino, perpetrated by husband and wife duo Syed Farook of Chicago and Tashfeen Malik of Pakistan. In late April, the FBI announced the arrests of three of Farook’s relatives for charges of marriage fraud, conspiracy and lying under oath, according to The Washington Post.
Trump originally noted in his proposal that such a move would be temporary.
“Where this hatred comes from and why, we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Trump argued in December.
Trump continued to make headlines on the matter this week after some outlets reported a softening of his rhetoric, yet he remained on-message in an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.
“Sure I’d back off on it. I’d like to back off it as soon as possible. Because frankly, I’d like to see something happen.”
Pickens promised at the SALT Conference to lend his financial support to the Trump campaign, though details were limited.
“I’ll give. I’m not going to give you the dollar amount.”
The SALT Conference is billed as a gathering of “heavyweight” luminaries from a variety sectors to include Mark Cuban, Will Smith, Donna Brazile, Michael Bloomberg and many others.
Logan Churchwell is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. You can follow him on Twitter @LCChurchwell.