Harlan Crow donates max to Cornel West’s presidential campaign

Harlan Crow, the Dallas real estate billionaire who became embroiled with a scandal over private gifts to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas earlier this year, made a maximum campaign donation to left wing independent presidential candidate Cornel West recently. 

Crow donated the maximum amount allowed by law, $3,300, to West’s campaign last month, according to West’s latest fundraising report, NBC News reported.

West, a “non-Marxist socialist” who has been a professor at Princeton and Harvard universities, is vying for the White House from the far left.

Crow, the founder and chairman of Dallas-based Crow Holdings, is a well-known conservative donor who has given millions of dollars to Republican candidates and causes over the years. He has been a major donor to the Republican National Committee, the Republican Governors Association, and the campaigns of former President George W. Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

The donation from Crow to West’s campaign is a surprising move, as West is a vocal critic of the Republican Party and its policies. West is a professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and also a prominent figure in the progressive movement. He has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and has been a vocal advocate for social justice and economic equality.

West also has been a vocal critic of the Democratic Party, arguing that it has become too centrist and has failed to address the needs of working-class Americans. He is campaigning on a platform he describes as focused on economic, racial and environmental justice.

The donation from Crow to West’s campaign could be a sign that the Republican mega donor is open to supporting candidates from outside the traditional two-party system and that the billionaire is open to messages of economic and social justice. 

Crow was involved in a scandal earlier this year when a ProPublica investigation revealed that he had lavished gifts on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including vacations on Crow’s megayacht and flights on his private jet. Crow also purchased real estate in Savannah, Georgia, for Thomas’ mother and paid private school tuition for Thomas’ nephew. 

That investigation brought to light that Crow is a collector of Nazi memorabilia, including linen napkins embroidered with Third Reich symbols, a signed copy of Mein Kampf and a painting by Adolf Hitler.

Because of that, some media outlets ran with the idea that Crow is a Nazi sympathizer. But his defenders, including the Atlantic, have said that Crow is broadly a collector of artifacts related to powerful world figures and that his shocking collections are part of a fascination with political history and not an indication of his personal beliefs.

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