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Members of President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign have donated to a GoFundMe account set up to help a Minneapolis firefighter rebuild his sports bar after it was destroyed by rioters following the death of George Floyd.
Firefighter Korboi “KB” Balla’s dream was to open a sports bar and he was weeks away from doing so when rioting, looting, and destruction broke out in his city after Floyd died in police custody last week.
But that dream was shattered as his Scores Sports Bar was demolished last week.
“I worked so hard to get here. So hard,” Balla said in a tearful response after discovering the remains.
“I was doing my shift at the fire station this morning when I got the call that the entire building had been burnt down last night. My heart was heavy, and I had to leave work because the emotional toll was too substantial,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“I have been an entrepreneur in the State of Minnesota for many years, and my community really showed their love in the rawest form,” Balla noted further. “To find out that the countless hours, hard work, late nights away from my kids, and family had all been for nothing was soul shattering. It is not the material things, more so the time that cannot be reclaimed.
“I went to Scores yesterday and all I could do was cry,” he added. “As a firefighter and public servant, I am used to saving lives and being strong, but this broke me. The glass was broken, it was looted, and vandalized.”
Actually, his dream was only temporarily shattered.
This black business owner was in tears at the destruction of his sports bar as a result of the #MinneapolisRiot
The clip broke my heart.
Maybe we can help this man out. I’ve got $50 on it. What about you?https://t.co/7LRHcx6ADB
— Rob Smith 🇺🇸 (@robsmithonline) May 29, 2020
After video of Balla’s emotional reaction to the destruction of his bar went viral, Americans from around the country began donating what they could, raising more than $100,000 in short order. That amount has now grown to more than $1 million as more than 9,500 people have contributed thus far.
Among those contributors are members of the president’s reelection campaign, including campaign manager Brad Parscale, Fox News reported.
The network said that at least two dozen members of Trump’s reelection campaign have sent money to Balla’s GoFundMe effort.
“Feel bad for Korboi Balla. This country is about making your dreams come true. Before he could open his bar, rioters destroyed it. I just donated to his GoFundMe page. Korboi, hope you make an even better sports bar!” Parscale wrote on Twitter Monday.
Feel bad for Korboi Balla. This country is about making your dreams come true.
Before he could open his bar, rioters destroyed it.
I just donated to his GoFundMe page.
Korboi, hope you make an even better sports bar!https://t.co/dbvBcCxw31 https://t.co/sdUBtT8WIT
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 1, 2020
Meanwhile, members of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign donated money to bail out people who were destroying businesses built by hard working Americans like Balla.
“At least 13 Biden campaign staff members posted on Twitter on Friday and Saturday that they made donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund,” Reuters noted.
And at the time, as BizPac Review reported, though scores of celebrities donated to the “Minnesota Freedom Fund,” as the bail account was called, few if any donated to Balla’s effort.
“@JoeBiden’s staff is donating to a fund that pays bail for people rioting in Minneapolis. This is CONDONING & FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING mayhem that’s destroying businesses & ruining people’s life work. The city is burning & Biden staff are funding it,” Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, tweeted.
.@JoeBiden’s staff is donating to a fund that pays bail for people rioting in Minneapolis.
This is CONDONING & FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING mayhem that’s destroying businesses & ruining people’s life work.
The city is burning & Biden staff are funding it.https://t.co/K3KhjkFVqQ
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) May 30, 2020
“Biden campaign donates to post bail for rioters looting and burning Minneapolis. @TeamTrump donates to a business owner whose place got destroyed by the rioters. Quite a contrast,” Parscale added.
Biden campaign donates to post bail for rioters looting and burning Minneapolis.@TeamTrump donates to a business owner whose place got destroyed by the rioters.
Quite a contrast.https://t.co/JuTXxSS09d
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 1, 2020
The move by Biden’s campaign staffers seems hypocritical, given their candidate’s stance on opposing cash bail, which he claims is akin to a “modern-day debtors’ prison.”
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Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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