Ari Emanuel, Democrat and Trump Agent, Starts PAC to Promote Civic Engagement
Donald Trump during a meeting with his former agent, Ari Emanuel. Image by Getty Images
By Lilly Maier February 8, 2017
Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG and brother to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, announced on Tuesday that he is forming a political action committee.
Together with his co-CEO Patrick Whitesell, Emanuel sent out a company-wide memo detailing some of their plans, according to Politico.
“This company’s greatest asset is the diversity of our backgrounds and beliefs,” the email signed by both Emanuel and Whitesell read.
“Please know that we will do everything in our power to support and protect this diversity now and in the months and years ahead,” they continued.
The staff email didn’t say what kind of issues the PAC would concern itself with, but it has a bi-partisan flavor.
“No matter what side of the aisle you sit on or where you live in the world, the call for meaningful and sustained civic engagement is louder than ever,” it read.
Emanuel is a lifelong Democrat, but the powerful talent agent also used to represent Donald Trump during his Celebrity Apprentice times.
After the election, Emanuel met with his former client and is said to have discussed cabinet appointments. And there were also rumors, that Emanuel helped Trump hide damning Miss Universe tapes (Emanuel bought the Miss Universe organization in 2015 from Trump.)
Besides the creation of a PAC, the memo also announced that WME-IMG plans to introduce company-wide “matching policies to support donations of time and money” by their employees, to connect clients with elected officials and to coven forums with “politicians and allied stakeholders.”
Lilly Maier is a news intern at the Forward. Reach her at maier@forward.com or on Twitter at @lillymmaier
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
