(Bloomberg) -- Venture capitalist David Sacks, oil magnate Harold Hamm and former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss will be among the speakers at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, highlighting the support from business leaders and conservative politicians for Donald Trump in his rematch with President Joe Biden.
Hamm, the chair of Oklahoma-based oil driller Continental Resources Inc., has contributed $814,000 to Trump’s 2024 reelection bid. He is slated to speak at a policy symposium about US energy production on Wednesday, according to a copy of the schedule seen by Bloomberg. Spokespeople for Hamm did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history, is set to deliver remarks the same day, according to a spokesperson. Truss endorsed Trump in April.
Sacks will also speak on Wednesday about the economy at the convention, according to a spokesman for the prominent tech investor and co-host of the All-In podcast.
The Republican National Convention, slated to begin Monday in Milwaukee, is where Trump will officially accept his party’s nomination. Trump has bolstered his support among Wall Street and corporate executives in his bid to return to the White House, seizing on broad unease among the public at Biden’s handling of the economy.
Sacks highlights Trump’s changing fortunes among business leaders. After the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Sacks said Trump had “disqualified himself from being a candidate again.” But the investor has since become one of the former president’s most enthusiastic backers.
Sacks held a fundraiser at his San Francisco home on June 6 for for the presumptive GOP nominee, an event Sacks said raised $12 million. Trump appeared two weeks later as a guest on Sacks’ podcast, co-hosted by investors Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis and entrepreneur David Friedberg.
On the episode, Sacks said wealthy donors at the fundraising event complained that it’s hard to do business under Biden. Trump has promised to slash regulations and renew expiring tax cuts, bolstering his appeal to business executives.
Tech investors, including Sacks, have assailed Biden’s record on the economy, blaming him for high inflation that hammered US households and criticizing his administration’s approach on antitrust and to regulating artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
Sacks boasts an influential presence on X — with more than 900,000 followers — and is close with Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, who has emerged within the industry as a prominent advocate for right-leaning views.
The Republican Party’s platform, which Trump helped craft, calls for revoking Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence. The order requires private companies developing AI tools to test their products for safety and share those results with the federal government — a measure which has drawn the ire of some in the tech industry.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who previously challenged Trump for the Republican nomination, is also poised to have a speaking slot, according to a DeSantis official.
He and Trump traded barbs throughout the primary before DeSantis dropped out and endorsed the former president. The two had a reconciliation in April in which DeSantis said he’d raise money for Trump.
--With assistance from Stephanie Lai, David Wethe and Hadriana Lowenkron.
(Updates to add Hamm, Truss and DeSantis expected to speak)
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