DETROIT — Matthew Moroun, whose family owns the Ambassador Bridge, gave $1 million to a political action committee that supports Republican President Donald Trump less than a month before Trump threatened to block the opening of a new, competing span between Detroit and Canada.
The $1 million receipt for the super PAC MAGA Inc. was revealed in a monthly campaign finance disclosure covering January and submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Friday night.
Brendan Fischer, director of strategic investigations for the non-profit Campaign Legal Center, identified the receipt in a post on X.
“Wow,” Fischer wrote. “New FEC reports show billionaire Matt Moroun gave Trump’s super PAC $1 million last month.”
A spokesman for Moroun didn’t immediately respond to a text message seeking comment about the transaction.
The White House responded late Friday, saying the president “has consistently and vocally stood up for American interests ― including against Canada.”
“Infrastructure being built over America’s border that connects Canada’s $2.3 trillion economy to America’s $30 trillion economy should first and foremost benefit America and Americans,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
“The only special interest guiding President Trump’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.”
Moroun gave the money on Jan. 16, according to the disclosure. Twenty-four days later, on Feb. 9, Trump used a social media post to threaten to prevent the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor from opening until Canada treats the United States with what he described as “fairness and respect.”
The Gordie Howe bridge, which was expected to open in the coming months, is co-owned by Canada and Michigan and is the result of a $4.7 billion project financed by Canada. It has been under construction since 2018 and would directly compete with the Moroun-owned Ambassador Bridge.
In his original post, Trump complained about Ontario’s refusal to stock some U.S. alcoholic beverages on Canadian shelves, Canada’s tariffs on dairy products, and its trade talks with China.
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” Trump wrote. “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.”
“With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical.”
The White House later said the president wants to amend a key 2013 permit that set in motion the construction of the Gordie Howe span that Canada paid for, seeking a cut of the span’s toll revenue.
The New York Times reported that hours before the post about the new bridge, Moroun, whose family has long fought the Gordie Howe project, met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Moroun, a prolific political donor, has said nothing publicly about his discussions with the Trump administration.
MAGA Inc. can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of Trump and his political causes.
Trump’s opposition to the project is a change from earlier statements about the span. In 2017 during his first term, Trump in a joint statement with then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the bridge would serve as “a vital economic link between our two countries.”
And just weeks ago, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security published a rule on Jan. 30 formally establishing the Gordie Howe International Bridge as a port of entry for immigration and customs purposes.
The rule, which takes effect March 2, indicates that the agency has already completed the assignment of Customs and Border Patrol officers to the bridge’s new customs plaza in Detroit.
(Staff writer Melissa Burke contributed to this story.)
