From calling for President Trump’s ban from future elections to dismissing his policy agenda as political theater, research reveals Arnold Venture’s pattern of anti-Trump sentiment

The Institute for Health Policy Accountability (IHPA), an independent authority on key drivers of decision-making in the health care space, today released its second report in a series exposing the anti-Trump sentiments held by the founders and senior executives of Arnold Ventures. The self-described “bipartisan” philanthropy is led by John Arnold and his wife, Laura Arnold. Far from the across-the-aisle operation it claims to be, Arnold Ventures has been home to leaders who sought to delegitimize President Trump, undermine his electoral prospects, and dismiss his policy accomplishments as empty politics.

Key findings from the IHPA research include:

John Arnold

• Arnold Ventures founder John Arnold publicly endorsed Twitter’s decision to ban President Trump from the platform, calling it “weird and scary and soothing and consequential and also feels correct.”
• John Arnold seemingly advocated for barring President Trump from running for office again, stating: “There will be 4 years of chaos and infighting in the Republican Party if Trump is not prohibited from running again. McConnell knows this.”
• Arnold called President Trump less “of a distraction if the party doesn’t have to worry about him running again.”
• On the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), Laura and John Arnold called it “catastrophic,” with John Arnold claiming it was “crammed through” on an “artificial timeline” and enacted “for no good reason besides that it’s politically popular and helps one get reelected.”

Sam Mar

• Arnold Ventures’ former Vice President Sam Mar authored a scathing op-ed after January 6, 2021, calling the events an “insurrection,” a “dark day in our nation’s democracy,” and a “symptom of a deeper disease infecting our nation.” The op-ed was featured on Arnold Ventures’ website before being quietly scrubbed earlier this year.
• Mar accused President Trump and his supporters of dealing in “fake news and conspiracy theories” and blamed them for reflecting a political system “that actually encourages this type of hatred and violence.”

Read the full report here.

Arnold Ventures was founded by billionaires Laura and John Arnold, who have cultivated an image of bipartisanship, particularly in healthcare policy. The Laura and John Arnold Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of Arnold Ventures and commands $4.77 billion in assets with approximately $200 million in annual spending. Despite publicly emphasizing across-the-aisle collaboration, Arnold Ventures has directed substantial funding to organizations that have made opposing President Trump a central focus of their advocacy and research. 

The Institute for Health Policy Accountability is an independent authority on key drivers of decision making in the health care space. IHPA provides fact-based research and analysis across the public policy landscape, adding a central and currently missing voice to the conversation.

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