Home Depot co-founder and major GOP donor Ken Langone says he feels 'betrayed' by Trump after Capitol riots

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Home Depot co-founder and major GOP donor Ken Langone says he feels 'betrayed' by Trump after Capitol riots
Kenneth Langone, co-founder of Home Depot Inc, speaks at a panel discussion at the SALT conference in Las Vegas May 14, 2014. SALT is produced by SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm.REUTERS/Rick Wilking
  • Billionaire GOP donor Ken Langone told CNBC he feels betrayed by President Donald Trump.
  • The Home Depot co-founder vowed to support President-Elect Joe Biden after his inauguration.
  • Langone has previously been vocal in his support for conservative causes and Trump specifically.
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Billionaire conservative donor Ken Langone says he feels betrayed by President Donald Trump and pledged to support President-Elect Joe Biden on CNBC Wednesday.

"Last Wednesday was a disgrace. It should never have happened in this country," the Home Depot co-founder said on "Squawk Box", referring to the violent pro-Trump rioters who stormed the US Capitol last week during the presidential election certification. "It breaks my heart," Langone said.

The protest turned violent after Trump riled up supporters with baseless claims of election fraud, falsely claiming that Congress could throw out electoral votes.

Despite his well-known politics, Langone condemned attempts to change the results of the presidential election. "It was over. Biden is the president. Biden should be in the White House," he said on CNBC, though he said he does not care if President Trump is impeached.

Langone even went as far as vowing to support Biden, promising to "make Joe Biden the most successful president in the history of the country."

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Read more: Liberal shoppers are hammering Home Depot's conservative roots, but the political reality of the home improvement big boxes is far more complicated

Langone has long been a major donor to the GOP and is worth nearly $5 billion according to Forbes. The Center for Responsive Politics listed Langone and his wife as top hard money individual contributors, with 99% of money going toward Republican causes, Insider's Áine Cain reported in 2020.

In a 2019 interview with Insider, he slammed Senator Bernie Sanders as a "blowhard" for saying billionaires shouldn't exist. Liberals have called for boycotts of Home Depot over Langone and cofounder Bernie Marcus' support for Trump and conservative causes.

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