“Charlie Had To Make These Guys Happy” - Heritage Foundation CEO REVEALS TPUSA Donor Power Struggles
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Valuetainment Episodes
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
Kevin Roberts breaks down how conservative leaders manage major donors during political fractures. From Trump vs. DeSantis tensions to faith, vision, and transparency, he explains coalition building, tough conversations, and why clear principles keep organizations unified.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm at an event. |
| 0:00.9 | Charlie's doing the big fundraiser two years ago, three years ago, Marlago. And I would say exactly when this is. This is, you know how the annual one he does at the end of the year at Marlago? It's got to be end of 21 or end of 22. It's when Desantis is doing well. When would that be? When did DeSantis launch his book? Five months before he launched his book. It could be December of 21. |
| 0:25.2 | Can you pull? He launched in March or May of 22. 23. Okay. So then that's February 20, |
| 0:32.0 | 2023, two months prior to that. So December of 2022, where Marlago. |
| 0:42.2 | And Charlie's up there, the great late Charlie, which we both love. |
| 0:43.7 | I've seen what you said about him as well. |
| 0:45.7 | May he rest in peace. |
| 0:49.4 | He's up there doing his thing, and he raises some $41 million. |
| 0:52.1 | And I'm just sitting there watching everybody. |
| 1:12.9 | And all I'm paying attention to, I'm not in this space. I'm a business guy. So I'm new to the political space the last five years. And just because I have opinions, it's not like I'm somebody that can run. I'm not born here. So it's not like I don't have any interest for governor whatsoever. I just, I'm interested because it's combat sport and that excites me, right? I'm just sitting, I'm like, okay, one lady gets up and says, we want to know some of you guys who usually give, you know |
| 1:19.0 | who you are, I've been watching you every year when you come to the TPSA event, you're not giving |
| 1:22.9 | any money here because you're worried whether Charlie's going to be team Trump or team DeSantis. |
| 1:28.2 | You guys should give because you trust Charlie, not whether he's going to support Trump or |
| 1:32.8 | DeSantis. |
| 1:33.8 | And I said, okay, that's exactly what I came here for. |
| 1:37.4 | And then I sat there and I saw the other person. |
| 1:39.9 | And because of that, we're deciding to give, I don't know what the number was, two million dollars, probably in their late 70s, early 80s, this lady. |
| 1:48.6 | Very attractive, very well put together, strong presence. |
| 1:52.3 | Great. |
| 1:53.7 | And then I said, huh, Charlie has to deal with making all of these guys happy. |
| 2:00.6 | Some are Christians. Many guys happy. Some are Christians. |
| 2:02.7 | Many are Jews. |
... |
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