Billionaire Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson appears to have a blank check policy when it comes to her support of former President Donald Trump, as she aims to help get him back to the White House.
Adelson’s political aide Andy Abboud was overheard telling attendees at a campaign event at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday that whatever the GOP presidential nominee needs from Adelson, he’s going to get in support from his boss, according to Abboud and a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
This person and one other in this story were granted anonymity in order to speak freely about private matters.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes for him to win,” Abboud said in a brief phone interview on Friday with CNBC, confirming those overheard comments. “In her [Adelson’s] mind, and in the minds of those who run the political action committee [Preserve America], we are going to do whatever it takes for him to win.”
He noted that the money from Adelson in support of Trump will not necessarily be unlimited and did not provide a firm number for how much the businesswoman might give toward backing Trump.
The Preserve America super PAC, which Adelson is helping fund, plans to spend more than the over $100 million they put up against President Joe Biden during the 2020 election, said David Carney, who is a senior advisor to the committee, in a statement to CNBC. Adelson has already given $5 million to the PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The super PAC can spend and raise an unlimited amount of money opposing Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. It has reserved over $40 million worth of television ads through September that will take on Harris and support Trump, according to data from AdImpact. The super PAC will end up spending roughly $60 million by Labor Day, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The ads are airing in the key states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Adelson gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump at the gathering in New Jersey and called on Jewish voters to back him over Harris.
“President Trump deserves the full support of the entire Jewish people,” said Adelson, who received the Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018. “And anyone who cares about Israel’s security and prosperity, this must be our pledge to him — this must be our promise to him — that the White House will be his again come January.”
Abboud’s acknowledgment that Adelson will do whatever it takes to help Trump over Harris signals she may end up becoming a crucial donor to back the former president by end of the 2024 election cycle.
Adelson is the widow of the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and has a net worth of over $28 billion, according to Forbes. Miriam Adelson and her family own over half of Las Vegas Sands, the casino giant that was founded by her late husband.
Both Miriam and Sheldon Adelson have been major Trump financiers since the 2016 election. They combined to be the top donors during the 2020 election, giving $200 million to Republicans with around $90 million directed to Preserve America, according to data from OpenSecrets.
The super PAC ended up raising just over $105 million and spent most of its money opposing then candidate Biden, according to FEC records.
The donations came after the Adelsons saw access to Trump and policy wins under his administration, such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
There’s been no indication that Miriam Adelson will stop giving, despite a report by The New York Times, citing sources, that said Adelson received angry text messages from a Trump aide complaining about the people who were running Preserve America.
Read the full article here