White House

Trump says billionaire, former critic Paul Singer visited White House

Paul Singer
David A. Grogan | CNBC

Billionaire Paul Singer just visited the White House, President Donald Trump said during a Thursday news conference.

"As you know, Paul was very much involved with the anti-Trump or as they say 'Never Trump' and Paul just left and he's given us his total support and it's all about unification ... So, I want to thank Paul Singer for being here and coming up to the office. He was a very strong opponent and now he's a very strong ally and I appreciate that," Trump said.

A spokesman for Elliott Management confirmed to CNBC that the two met on Thursday " to discuss policies to advance a pro-growth agenda and the President's success on behalf of our country." Singer and Trump had "a good exchange of ideas," the spokesman said.

Singer had been a fierce critic of Trump during the election. During a panel discussion last summer, the hedge fund manager said Trump's policies, if implemented, would be "close to a guarantee of a global depression, widespread global depression."

The Elliott Management founder's Thursday visit is the latest instance of the two mending fences. A source familiar with the matter told CNBC that Thursday's conversation focused on economic policy.

Sources previously told CNBC that Singer and Trump have been in contact since the election. Singer ended up donating a sizeable sum of money to Trump's inauguration, sources said.

The opportunity to implement economic policy with Trump's White House and a Republican-controlled Congress appealed to Singer, sources said.

— CNBC's Scott Wapner contributed to this report.