When you represented the ex-Celebrity Apprentice host who is now the President of the United States and your Chicago Mayor brother was Chief of Staff to the previous POTUS, politics is never really at arm’s length. Now WME | IMG bosses Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell have decided to put their money in the arena.
“No matter what side of the aisle you sit on or where you live in the world, the call for meaningful and sustained civic engagement is louder than ever,” said an email that went out this morning initialed from both Emanuel and Whitesell announcing that the uber-agency is forming a political action committee.
Not mentioning Donald Trump by name nor his recent slate of executive orders like the legally contested so-called Muslim travel ban, the correspondence goes for brevity and the point.
“In the coming weeks, you will hear more from us about this,” it adds and lists:
- The formation of a federal political action committee (PAC) in the U.S.
- Convening internal and external forums with politicians and allied stakeholders
- Connecting our clients with elected officials
- Introducing company-wide matching policies to support donations of time and money
- Developing actionable public policy solutions
“This company’s greatest asset is the diversity of our backgrounds and beliefs,” the email concludes, leaving no doubt about where it is coming from even if WME | IMG’s plans aren’t set in stone yet. “Please know that we will do everything in our power to support and protect this diversity now and in the months and years ahead.”
Having met with Trump not long after last year’s election, Barack Obama supporter Emanuel was last at the White House in the last days of the 44th president’s administration to celebrate the World Series win by his hometown Chicago Cubs.
News of the memo was first reported by our sister publication Variety.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.