Ryan Salame, the live-in boyfriend of Michelle Bond and co-CEO of FTX, has rallied his crypto-billions behind his girlfriend’s Congressional campaign. Some local voters have claimed this is a shameful attempt to “purchase” the election.
As one of Bond’s most prominent financial supporters, Salame has become a familiar face on the campaign trail. He totes closely behind, posing in photographs while shaking the hands of Long Island Republicans and keeping his close association with Democrat mega-donor Samuel Bankman-Fried silent.
Samuel Bankman-Fried is often compared to George Soros and is the 2nd largest donor to the Democratic party. Local party officials are convinced Michelle Bond and Ryan Salame are playing for the same team, and it’s not the team most voters would think.
“She worked for Obama-Biden as a lawyer, and now, she claims to want to work for you–but really, she is working you,” said Suffolk County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia. “She’s been a Democrat and is still following the Obama/Biden playbook. Bond is still dodging campaign events and answering critical questions. She can’t defend her record of being a Democrat.”
The web connecting Bond, Salame and Bankman-Fried is complex but easy to navigate if you research federal donor websites.
As a top donor to Biden’s 2020 Presidential campaign, Bankman-Fried has admitted he would take extra steps to ensure a Democratic victory in 2024. Bankman-Fried has committed to contributing $100 million to $1 billion in 2024, or even more if Trump becomes the Republican contender.
This past year, Bankman-Fried donated $6 million to the House Majority PAC, which strives to obtain a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives. He contributed over $200,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in June.
Bradley Beychok co-founded American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC. “We’ve never seen something like this on this scale,” Beychok told POLITICO on August 4. “On our side, there’s a small pool of people who write these kinds of checks and they tend to be the same folks. But Sam, to his credit, came right in with a big splash.”
Beychok continued, “he could make a big difference for Democratic candidates – if he wants.”
“He certainly can,” Garcia added. “They [wealthy, “Dem-leaning” bankrollers] all can. That is why this great party of dedicated committee members and volunteers will turn out the vote on August 23rd, and not let a former Democrat and Obama/Biden appointee buy Lee Zeldin’s Congressional seat.”
Garcia added, “A vote for Nick LaLota, on the other hand, is a vote for a naval veteran committed to public service and against buying your way into office.”
Bankman-Fried’s liberal spending is being felt across the country, but his control isn’t solely contained in the Democratic party. Behind a trail of political contributions and a web of PACs, Bankman-Fried and Salame’s close relationship show a tight camaraderie working in tandem to elect “Democrats masquerading as Republicans,” according to Garcia.
Two weeks ago, Salame gushed over Bankman-Friend on Twitter, saying: “Absolute honor working for this man, one of the most caring, humble, genuine people I’ve ever met.” The shared political entanglements of Bankman-Fried and Salame show a pattern of financially backing PACs that invest in liberal candidates.
Furthermore, Salame and Bankman-Fried have teamed up as mega-donors to GMI PAC, the same PAC that contributed over $10 million to Democrat Carrick Flynn of Oregon and over $1 million to Jasmine Crockett, who is backed by the Socialist Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders.
Among GMI PAC contributions, significant donations are made to Crypto Innovation, the Super PAC promoting Bond to Republican voters on Long Island. While Long Islanders have been led to believe Crypto Innovation is a Republican or Conservative PAC, “the truth is far from it,” said Garcia.
For their efforts, Salame and Bankman-Fried have been investing in competitive primaries through their network of PACs and Super PACs. Bankman-Fried and Salame will encourage candidates they know to push for pro-cryptocurrency legislation. Their mission is to pass pro-cryptocurrency legislation. They’ve invested millions into supporting liberal Democrats and newer, younger Republicans in Congress.
“It’s obvious Michelle Bond is only interested in the Crypto lobbying special interest and not the middle-class families and small. Business owners of Suffolk,” Garcia said. “Republicans will vote for a true Trump Conservative who has served our nation in the Navy and will fiercely fight the Biden/Pelosi radical agenda in Washington—Nick LaLota.”
