One of President Trump’s major donor’s has been killed under suspicious circumstances, according to reports.
72-year-old Steve Alembik was a mega-donor to Republicans. He was pronounced dead after apparently shooting himself and his wife in the parking lot of a BurgerFi outlet in Delray Beach, Florida on October 10.
The woman, whose identity has yet to be confirmed by police, survived after she ran into the fast food outlet with gunshot wounds to her arm and back. She was rushed to a local hospital.
NN reports: Alembik was known as a major GOP donor, giving more than $200,000 in political contributions over the past 20 years.
According to the Herald, he donated thousands to both Trump and DeSantis as well as other prominent Republicans such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
According to records obtained by the Herald, DeSantis’s gubernatorial re-election campaign and a state PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis, received more than $5,000 from Alembik in 2021 and 2022.
Alembik made headlines in 2017, when he moved a charity gala for his newly formed pro-Israel nonprofit, Truth About Israel, to Mar-a-Lago, according to the Washington Post.
He moved the gala to Mar-a-Lago after nearly 20 mainstream charities pulled their events from the venue when the corporate media and Democrats pushed the false claim about Trump saying there were “many fine people” in Charlotteville.
Alembik worked with a promoter to push ticket sales for the event on Chinese social media platforms by indicating that attendees would have access to the 45th president, the Herald reports.
But Trump had never planned to attend the event, as the annual Governor’s Ball had been scheduled for the same night.
Alembik also faced backlash at the event for the lack of a seating chart and kosher food, according to the Herald.
But he tried to make the best of it, telling 400 people in the grand ballroom: “This president has had Israel’s back like no president has since the days of Ronald Reagan.”
He said that when he heard other “spineless” organizations were pulling their events from Mar-a-Lago, “I picked up the phone, I call Mar-a-Lago, they think I’m calling to cancel some other gala or some event, and I said no.
“I’d like to come here and show our support for the president of the United States.”
In total, Alembik raised more than $7,500 for committees supporting Trump.
A motive for the shooting is unclear, however.
According to the Herald, those who knew Alembik said he had a history of mental health issues.
“Sadly, those of us who knew Steve understood that he struggled with his mental health at times,” pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer wrote on Twitter/X.
He had previously been arrested in December 2018 on domestic violence charges that were later dismissed via pre-trial diversion, the Herald reports.