Tag Archives: linda mcmahon

Marvel Chairman’s Connection to Sedition and the Capitol Riots

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Ike Perlmutter

The sedition and riots that happened at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, were a stain and dark day on American history. What was supposed to be an abnormal certification of the election victory for President-elect Joe Biden turned into an attempted coup by the outgoing President Trump.

The connections and who were behind the criminal act are still coming out but there were numerous groups and individuals who organized the seditious and deadly act.

One of those organizations behind the rally was Women for America First, which helped organize the “March to Save America”. The 501(c)(4) nonprofit is allowed to engage in limited political activities by the IRS and doesn’t have to publicly disclose their donors. But, we know of at least one of those donors.

America First Action is a political action committee chaired by Linda McMahon. The organization’s 2019 990 disclosure form showed they contributed $25,000 to Women for America First. American First Action is affiliated with America First Policies, a political organization started by Trump and Pence staffers.

McMahon is the wife of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Both are friends and allies of Trump, and Linda McMahon headed up the Small Business Administration. She resigned from that position in 2019 to assume her role as Chairwoman of America First Action.

A donor to America First Action is Isaac (Ike) Perlmutter and his wife Laura. Ike Perlmutter is the Chairman of Marvel. Together, the two donated $21 million in 2019-2020 over 4 donations. $15 million was donated on September 24 and $6 million on September 8. America First Action was founded in 2017 but 2020 was the first time either donated to the super PAC.

The Perlmutter donations happened after the 2019 donation to Women for America First but America First Action has yet to file a new 990 form since 2019. Who knows what might turn up in their next one. Women For America First’s donors are generally unknown. It’s near impossible to determine who directly donated to that organization and funded their failed coup which is why crumbs like this raise questions and concerns.

As of this article, in 2019 and 2020 the Perlmutters contributed 100 reported times to Republican candidates or organizations for a total of $26,067,600. That includes the maximum donation of $11,200 to Donald J. Trump for President, $1,871,200 to Trump Victory, and $1,207,000 to the Republican National Committee.

Perlmutter, like McMahon, also played a role in the Trump administration. He “advised” the Department of Veteran Affairs, which lead to attempts at investigations of his involvement. Questions remain concerning that position.

WWE, Linda McMahon and why she cannot be the new head of the Small Business Administration

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wwe-logo-featuredI’m a pro-wrestling fan. Mostly WWE due to access, but I try to keep abreast of what is happening in promotions like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling as well and I just started following my local indie fed Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment late last year. I unabashedly love Finn Bálor, Bayley and Sami Zayn, have been published by Paste Magazine with my thoughts on WWE, and I’m even going to Wrestlemania in Orlando this year to mark my two year anniversary as a wrestling fan.

So when WWE co-founder Linda McMahon was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the new head of the Small Business Administration, naturally I was asked what my opinion was on the matter.

Well, without my usual use of four letter words to pepper it, my opinion is such: Linda McMahon is an awful choice due to her own history with how WWE is run.

Let’s review, shall we?

  1. Linda McMahon donated six million dollars to a Super PAC supporting Trump. This is on top of the five million “donated” to the Trump Foundation by her and WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon between 2007 and 2009. While Linda has not actively been involved with the company since 2009 when she began her first unsuccessful Senate campaign, she still has some equity within the company (the McMahon family holds 90.4% interest). There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it, Linda McMahon bought her way into the SBA position with money earned from WWE.
  2. WWE classifies the wrestlers we see on TV every week as independent contractors, despite the grueling travel schedule that sees them on the road anywhere between 250 to 300 days a year and the amount of high risk that is involved in the position. While WWE has tightened up their medical care and wellness policy in the past decade, it still leaves the wrestlers without company based health insurance, social security, or unemployment. McMahon has tried to justify this in the past, speaking on the royalties, merchandising, and contract deals that are unlike any other sport that will also classify their athletes as independent contractors. However, unlike those other sports, WWE doesn’t have an off-season nor a union for its wrestlers. This also doesn’t include the multiple lawsuits brought on by former employees, including a recent concussion lawsuit, the fact former WWE wrestlers like Perry Saturn have had to take to GoFundMe to take care of medical expenses, or that current Raw General Manager Mick Foley has admitted that he is on a “handshake deal” with the company and currently doesn’t have health insurance to cover hip replacement surgery. It’s a gross misclassification, especially for a publically traded company that brings in millions of dollars every year.
  3. Out of the company’s ten highest paid wrestlers in 2015, only one was not white and none of them were women. Adding into the fact that non-white and women superstars only receive a fraction of marketing and merchandising that white men receive, despite WWE constantly bragging about how far they’ve come with women’s wrestling in the past few years. For example, current Smackdown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss did not have a shirt available for purchase until two weeks after her championship win. She does now, but that leaves it down to one champion within the WWE that doesn’t: Rich Swann, the current WWE Cruiserweight Champion and one of two current black champions within the company (the other being Smackdown Tag Champion Jason Jordan). Behind the scenes, no women writers are currently employed. Despite small advances that have been made within the past couple of years, it’s obvious that WWE still has some ways to go in regards to race and gender but no way to address it as of yet.

The facts are clear: Linda McMahon has done and will likely do nothing to address issues within small business of misclassification, employee rights, and gender/race pay gaps. To place her in this position, especially when she still has equity within WWE, is dangerous. She bought her way into the position after her aspirations of politics failed and she is unqualified to address the growing concerns of small business in America.

Tell your Senators NO on Linda McMahon for SBA. Call your senators, especially if they are within the Senate Small Business Committee. A vote is expected within the week.

You can look your Senator up here and call, email, Tweet at them to not support Linda McMahon for this position.

 

You can watch the hearing below.

WWE’s Linda McMahon Puts a Headlock as Small Business Administrator

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linda_mcmahon_creative_commons_attribution-share_alike_2-0_genericRumors have swirled for a while, but President-elect Donald Trump has thrown Linda McMahon into the ring to lead the Small Business Administration. Along with Vince McMahon, she founded what is now known as WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon stepped down from the company in 2009 when she ran for Senate. Trump has appeared on WWE television even grappling with McMahon’s husband Vince.

McMahon is a strong supporter of Republican and Conservative causes having donated tens of millions of dollars over the years. She ran for Senate in 2009 and 2012 as a Republican. She has also donated to some Democrats over the years as well, though with a large gap between the two parties.

McMahon actually had harsh words for Trump during the election saying his comments about women were “deplorable.” She donated to former Presidential candidate Rand Paul’s Senate race, as well as former Presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s Senate campaign as well as his Presidential campaign. She donated $6 million in August and September to Rebuilding America Now, a super PAC that supported Trump’s presidential bid though has indicated Trump was not her first choice. She and her husband were the largest outside donors to Trump’s personal charity.

Trump in the decision announcement called her “one of the country’s top female executives” who helped the WWE become a “global enterprise.”

The Small Business administrator is in charge of the federal agency that helps shepherd federal contracts and capital to small businesses. She has embraced her role as a female entrepreneur with a new advocacy group Women’s Leadership Live, which helps women in business. The position is a Cabinet-level position that requires Senate confirmation. Itis likely past controversies regarding the WWE will be brought up during the hearing. Those issues include steroid and drug use, athelete health, sexual harassment by staff, as well as the content on the show and brand. Currently more than 50 former wrestlers are suing the company saying it is responsible for head trauma including concussions suffered that has led to long-term brain damage. There’s also the issue of the high mortality rate of wrestlers that have worked for the company and actual deaths due to negligence. Will she go kayfabe for the hearings or beak it?

BOOM! Studios currently publishes WWE comics. It’s unknown if this will be worked into any of their planned storylines.