An ex-Mob boss: the Mafia is backing Trump
Michael Franzese, a past top Mafia boss,1 noted on Instagram in 2021 that "most wiseguys [Mafia figures] are for Trump," and added in 2024 that he enthusiastically supported Trump in the upcoming November election.2
Trump signaled that he welcomed this Mob support by a posting on January 13, 2024 on his Truth Social platform thanking "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, a notorious Mafia killer and underboss, for Gravano's praise of Trump's character.3 Trump expressed his gratitude to Gravano, writing, "Thank you to Sammy the Bull."4
Gravano had been an underboss to Mafia boss John Gotti and admitted to being involved in 19 homicides, including "a few" in which he personally killed someone (he added, "when I'm ordered to kill, I kill").5
- CNN Money, "(FORTUNE Magazine)—Cover Story: The 50 Biggest Mafia Bosses," November 10, 1986, https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/11/10/68275/index.htm.
- The Toronto Sun, "HUNTER EXCLUSIVE: Ex-mobster Sammy the Bull says Trump 'can't lose,'" July 18, 2024, https://torontosun.com/news/world/hunter-exclusive-ex-mobster-sammy-the-bull-says-trump-cant-lose.
- Newsweek, "Donald Trump Thanking Ex-Hitman 'Sammy the Bull' Raises Eyebrows," January 13, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-thanking-ex-hitman-sammy-bull-raises-eyebrows-1860506; HuffPost, "Trump Touts Ex-Mobster Sammy The Bull as Moral Character Witness," June 23, 2024, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-touts-ex-mobster-sammy-the-bull-as-moral-character-witness_n_65a2d001e4b0351062f20988; Tmz.Com, "Donald Trump Thanks Mobster Sammy the Bull ... For Calling Him 'Legitimate,'" January 13, 2024, https://www.tmz.com/2024/01/13/donald-trump-thanks-mobster-sammy-the-bull-legitimate-guy-incorruptible/; The Atlantic, "Donald Trump's Mafia Mind-Set," August 23, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/trump-gravano-gotti-mafia/568273/.
- As cited above.
- The Atlantic, August 23, 2018, op cit.; HuffPost, June 23, 2024, op. cit.