WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sheldon Adelson reportedly will contribute $5 million toward electing Donald Trump, a fraction of the pledged $100 million reported earlier this year.
CNN on Monday quoted a source close to the billionaire casino magnate and backer of pro-Israel and Republican causes as saying that he and his wife had earmarked $45 million for this election cycle for GOP candidates: $20 million each for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, and $5 million for Trump’s candidacy.
In May, Adelson bucked a substantial number of Republican Jews who opposed Trump, even though by that time it was clear he would be the party’s presidential nominee. Adelson endorsed the pugnacious real estate magnate and reality TV star and appealed to other top Republican Jewish donors to follow suit.
The New York Times reported at the time that Adelson was prepared to spend up to $100 million to elect Trump. It’s not known if Adelson plans to give more ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
Trump and Adelson have met several times since then, and appeared to get along, posing for a photo at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.
However, Adelson also appears to have been uneasy at times with Trump, in part for the reasons many of his fellow Jewish Republicans have been unhappy with the nominee. After a meeting last month, it was reported that Adelson had urged Trump to show greater “humility.”
Trump since announcing his candidacy in the summer of 2015 has launched broadsides against Muslims and Mexicans, and made comments considered offensive to women, blacks, Jews and others.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
