WIKI Before joining the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016, Mnuchin had been involved in politics only by donating money to campaigns.[45] Between 1995 and 2014, he donated over $120,000 to political organizations, PACs, politicians, and political parties. His contributions to candidates included 11 donations that went to Republicans and 36 donations that went to Democrats.
The campaigns of Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney were among those to which he donated money.[46] Mnuchin said most of those donations were favors for friends.[21]
Between June and September 2016, Mnuchin donated over $400,000 to the Republican Party, including donations to Paul Ryan and Donald Trump. Earlier in 2016, Mnuchin had donated $4,000 to Democrats Kamala Harris and Michael Wildes.[46]
Mnuchin was an early supporter of Trump, and attended his victory party after the New York Republican primary victory on April 19, 2016, after he had received a last-minute invitation.[29] He was called the following day by Trump, who asked him if he wanted to be the national finance chairman of his campaign.[21] Mnuchin, who later said in an interview he had known Trump “for over fifteen years,” accepted the offer.[7][21] In a statement announcing the appointment, Trump said “Steven is a professional at the highest level with an extensive and very successful financial background.” He also said Mnuchin would bring “unprecedented experience and expertise” that would benefit the Republican Party. After being appointed as the Trump campaign’s main fundraiser, Mnuchin said “It’s a great privilege to be working with Mr. Trump to create a world class finance organization to support the campaign in the General Election.”[47]
Mnuchin worked with Republican National Committee counterpart Lewis Eisenberg on a late-developing joint operation for the committee and the Trump campaign. Before Mnuchin’s appointment, no large-scale fundraising operation had been started for the Trump campaign. The late-summer fundraising goal was close to $500 million.[21] The New York Times described Mnuchin’s role during the campaign as “relatively behind the scenes,” and the newspaper noticed he never “seemed to seek the spotlight.”[7] During an interview, Mnuchin said that because of his connection to the Trump campaign “a lot of people in California and New York [...] wanted to stop being friends.”[48] After Trump won the election, he announced that Mnuchin would join the transition team on November 11.[49]
It is important to not punish a difference of opinion as a disloyal act.