After being introduced by President Donald Trump as a recipient of this 12 months’s Kennedy Middle Honor, Federal Election Fee information present disco legend Gloria Gaynor donated to a number of MAGA and conservative political campaigns.
The 81-year-old star, whose 1978 hit music “I Will Survive” has been an undisputable LGBTQ+ anthem for many years, was named amongst 5 honorees who will obtain the celebrated Kennedy Middle honor. The glory has been awarded to entertainers of American tradition since 1978.
“My hope is that in accepting this honor, I can proceed with the inspirational phenomenon that started with ‘I Will Survive,’” mentioned Gaynor, who’s a two-time Grammy Award winner from Newark, New Jersey. The Dance Music Corridor of Famer added, “Sharing my music and artwork on a worldwide stage to offer encouragement, hope, empowerment, inspiration, understanding, and unity is the core of my function.”
In response to a report by MeidasTouch, Gaynor, actual title Gloria Fowles, has donated almost $22,000 to right-wing candidates and conservative organizations between 2023 and 2024.
Gaynor’s donations to Republican campaigns embody the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee ($1,190.53), Home Speaker Mike Johnson ($2,160.57), former Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy ($356.15), U.S. Senator Josh Hawley ($1,242.28), U.S. Senator Ted Cruz ($476.18), and Trump’s now-Secretary of State and Nationwide Safety Advisor Marco Rubio ($114.10).
MeidasTouch’s investigation of Gaynor’s marketing campaign donations confirmed she wasn’t very political till 2016, when she donated $235.00 in assist of Ben Carson, who ran for president and later grew to become Trump’s secretary of Housing and City Growth throughout his first time period. The singer didn’t donate politically once more till 2023.
Gaynor additionally donated to New Journey PAC, a gaggle that targets Black voters in assist of MAGA candidates, together with Trump and U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds, who’s now operating for Florida governor.
MeidasTouch famous that whereas Gaynor solely donated to Republicans, information present she has in a roundabout way donated to Trump’s campaigns. Nonetheless, she did contribute to the campaigns of a few of Trump’s opponents within the 2024 election: Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Whereas delivering a speech on the Library of Congress in 2017, Gaynor advised an viewers, “I’m actually not a political individual.” Nonetheless, she added, “It’s a secure guess that quite a bit wants to alter.”
