Home > Blog > Local > 10 Ties Donald Trump has to Wichita
10 Ties Donald Trump has to Wichita
January 18, 2017	| Ashley Aulbach
Sure, we all know that president-elect Donald misspelled "Wichita" in his tweet about visiting our city for the Kansas caucus, but he's connected to Wichita in many more ways. Don't believe us? Check out this list of the soon-to-be-president's ties to ICT.
His Choice of CIA Director
Via Twitter.com.
One of the most recent of Donald Trump's ties came with his choice of cabinet members. The president-elect chose Kansas representative and Wichitan Mike Pompeo to serve as the Director of the CIA.
Pompeo has served three terms as a congressman in the fourth district, and has graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and From Harvard Law School. Pompeo served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall after graduating from West Point in 1986. Later studying law, Pompeo served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. Upon his return to Kansas, Pompeo founded Thayer aerospace where he was a CEO for over a decade. He has also served as President of Sentry International, a company that specializes in oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution and service.
Citing the Wrong Wichita Paper
Upon selecting Pompeo for his cabinet, the president-elect quoted Governor Sam Brownback, Senator Pat Roberts and a few others who spoke highly of his selection of Pompeo on his transition website, Greatagain.gov.
There was just one problem. Trumps site claimed that these quotes were taken from the Wichita Post, which had ceased all operation a year prior. In actuality, the quotes were taken from The Wichita Eagle. This was promptly rectified, but not until a report from The Eagle reported the error.
"Witchita"
Maybe the soon-to-be POTUS had been watching a little too much "Wizard of Oz" when he tweeted about Phil Ruffin speaking at the "Witchita" Pachyderm Club.
Who'd have thought "Wichita" was harder to spell than "Pachyderm"?
His campaign later misspelled both Wichita and Kansas in the announcement that the candidate would speak in "Witchita" for the Kansas caucus.
Friendship With Phil Ruffin
Via zimbio.com.
President-Elect Trump is good friends with Wichita Billionaire Phil Ruffin. Ruffin was raised in Wichita, graduating from West High School.
He later attended Washburn and Wichita State University. Ruffin began building his fortune by pioneering self-serve gas stations in the Midwest. He grew a chain of 60 convenience stores before leasing them to Total to go into the hotel and casino business. These and several other business ventures led Ruffin to his net worth of $2.4 Billion.
He and Donald Trump are long-time friends and business partners. Trump was even the best man at Ruffin's Wedding! Ruffin has also loaned Trump his personal 737 and donated $1 million to the Make America Great Again PAC (though the PAC later shut down and refunded his donation).
Twinning with Trump: WuShock
Imagine what Trump looks like. Now imagine WuShock. Do you see a striking resemblance?
Many people noticed similarites and posted their thoughts on Twitter. The Huffington Post even picked up the story, citing bushy eyebrows and a toothy smile as a few of the features that the two share.
Does Trump look like WuShock? We don't see it…
Trump's Hair at Hyde Elementary
Via buzzfeed.com.
Trump and Wichita were again linked just after Halloween in 2016 When a Wichita fifth grader came to school dressed as the Donald Trump's Hair.
Gage, a student at Hyde Elementary, received national attention for his costume, created by his mother and a friend. The costume was simple: an umbrella covered with fake grass (which was laid out carefully to mimic the intricate pattern of Trump's hair.) The umbrella had a hole in the top, covered with a posterboard "Make America Great Again" hat.
The costume was a hit, an even scored Gage his own Buzzfeed article!
His Visit to Century II for the Kansas Caucus
In May of 2015, the then-candidate for president, Donald Trump, Spoke at Wichita's Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center. Check out a video of his Wichita speech below.
His Director of Coalitions, Alan Cobb
Alan Cobb, a Kansas Politician is connected to Wichita in a number of ways. A former Wichitan and student at Wichita State, Cobb know his way around ICT. Cobb has served in several Kansas offices, including deputy state director for Bob Dole's presidential campaign, campaign manager for Tim Shallenburger and an aide to U.S. Senator Sheila Frahm.
He was also the Kansas state director of Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit organization focused on limited government. The organization was founded by David Koch in 2004 and by 2009, Cobb had been promoted to vice president. He served in this role until 2012.
Cobb joined Trump's team early before the positions were clearly defined. Initially, his work was in "assisting with recruitment" before being named "senior advisor" after Trump announced his candidacy. In June of 2016, Cobb was promoted to Trump's Director of Coalitions.
His Generous Wichita Donors
On Oct. 28, the Wichita Business Journal published a list of Kansas's top donors for each of the presidential candidates. Trump received six significant donations from Wichita and the surrounding area. The gifts came in varying sizes, with two coming in at $2,000 and the remaining four at the legal maximum of $2,700.
Overall, the Business Journal Shows that Trump received 46 donations out of Wichita, totaling $28,972.
The report also shows a donation of $300 from "Witchita KS". These numbers are sourced from the Federal Election Commission and reflect donations received between January and September of 2015.
See for yourself here.
William Koch's Trump Fundraiser
You're probably familiar with Charles and David Koch, but did you know that these are two of four brothers? William and Frederick Koch also hail from Wichita, though these two sold their stake in Koch Industries in 1983.
Though Charles and David Koch would not involve themselves with Trump's campaign, William Koch reportedly held a Cape Cod Fundraiser for Trump during his campaign. Admission to the event, held on Sat., Aug. 6, 2016, was priced at $2,700, the same amount as the maximum campaign donation.
See the invitation here.