Democratic Senate candidates Sherrod Brown and James Talarico headlined a high-dollar Manhattan fundraiser hosted by a celebrity jeweler who called the United States a s---hole and cheered Democrat Socialists.
Fox News Digital reported that Brown and Texas Rep. James Talarico headlined the Monday evening event in Manhattan, hosted by celebrity jewelry designer Alexis Bittar.
An invitation cited in the coverage listed contribution levels from $500 to $27,000 and named actor Robert De Niro among the high-powered hosts. The Talarico campaign declined to comment. Neither Brown nor Bittar returned requests for comment.
Voters in Ohio and Texas now get a clear look at the company these candidates keep when the checks get big.
Bittar is not a quiet donor who writes a check and stays offstage. He has spent recent months airing sharp contempt for the country, the flag, and the traditional Democratic Party, while promoting socialist candidates and causes.
In a July interview, Bittar said: “I have three kids, and they're little, and they're growing up in this s---hole. So if we don't do something now, we're f---ed.”
That is not a policy paper. That is a host of a Democratic Senate fundraiser describing the United States to a national audience.
The same period produced a Forbes interview in which Bittar framed the American flag as a right-wing weapon. “Thinking about the new administration and what actions I can take to combat their policies. It seemed folks were in shock and experiencing malaise. But I homed in how the flag was co-opted by the right and how did the left let that happen?” he said.
He went further: “It’s become such a symbol of aggression, the American flag, like ‘we're coming for you’ during Trump’s era.”
Ordinary voters fly that flag on porches and at ballgames. Bittar treated it as a problem to be “reclaimed” through a documentary project tied to his politics.
Several weeks before the Brown-Talarico event, Bittar posted on Instagram: “Hey people... it’s voting time!!! Bringing in all the Democrat Socialists!! Let’s change America...!”
In August, he appeared in an Instagram video with Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after hosting a fundraiser for him. Bittar declared that “the traditional Democrats have one foot in the grave” and that “the revolution has begun.”
He has also put money and time behind New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Prior reporting cited in the coverage said Bittar gave the maximum amount to support Mamdani’s transition and served on the mayor’s Arts & Culture transition committee.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that Bittar was listed first on the host committee for the downtown Manhattan fundraiser for Talarico and Brown, with top tickets at $27,000 and celebrities including De Niro and Gina Gershon also featured. The same account tied Bittar to socialist politics around Mamdani and El-Sayed and to promotion of Democrat Socialists, including Claire Valdez.
Bittar’s commercial brand has run just as strange. In a December 2025 interview with V Magazine, he discussed a marketing campaign built around a fictional female serial killer named Amanda Gates. “I am always intrigued by people who kill, and I love to trace their own personal history and the trajectories that led them to become killers,” he said. He added: “Meet Amanda Gates... she is the most unlikely new fashion icon.”
Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna have worn his jewelry. Glamour on the red carpet does not erase the political record he keeps publishing in his own words.
None of this was hidden when the invitation went out. The host’s insults toward America, his flag remarks, his socialist voting pitch, his “revolution” talk, and his killer-themed ads were already public.
Brown is a longtime Democratic brand in Ohio. Talarico is a Texas House member running statewide and already facing scrutiny over a political rebrand. Laura Ingraham has highlighted his progressive statements since 2019 on gender identity and parental rights. A Manhattan room with $27,000 tickets and a host who cheers “Democrat Socialists” is not a quiet show of moderation.
Senate candidates ask working voters for trust on borders, schools, crime, and the cost of living. Then they raise money with a jeweler who calls the country a s---hole, treats the flag as aggression, and says the revolution has begun.
The campaign silence is the tell. When the host’s record is this loud, “no comment” is a choice.
Donors can write whatever checks the law allows. Candidates still own the stage they stand on, and the message voters hear when the host calls America a s---hole on the way to the buffet.
