Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has been one of the most prominent donors the Good Old Party (GOP) has had. Now, he is reportedly Adelson plotting to commit between $20 million and $50 million in a new spending spree to back US President Donald Trump’s reelection bid.
With just 49 days to go until Election Day, Adelson is one of the big donors backing the presidential elections this year. The reported amount is still less than what Michael Bloomberg is committing to support presidential hopeful and former vice president Joe Biden’s reelection bid.
In Florida alone, Bloomberg vowed $100 million earlier this week. Adelson, who owns Las Vegas Sands, will focus on funding the new pro-Trump PAC, Preserve America, sources close to the matter said cited by CNBC.
While this looks like a small amount compared to Bloomberg’s contribution in Florida alone, Adelson’s the overall contributions to the Republican Party since President Trump came to power are estimated at $82 million, putting Adelson as one of the most prominent backers of the party.
Part of that funding may go to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and Republicans in Congress who are actively involved with the reelection process. According to the same article published on CNBC, Adelson representatives have already contacted GOP officials to plan how to best distribute the money.
Adelson’s Pro-Trump Support Dates Back to At Least 2016
Adelson himself is one of the founding members of Preserve America. When asked, Preserve America said for media that they would only confer donor information to the Federal Election Commission, which regulates how campaigns are funded.
These rumors arrive shortly after another outlet, Axios, reported that Sheldon and Miriam Adelson were planning to back Trump in his reelection bid. Trump reportedly had phone call with Adelson, the New York Times reported, in which POTUS accused the casino magnate of not doing enough to back his campaign.
It’s worth noting that Las Vegas Sands, which Adelson owns and chairs, is among the few companies in the United States to have retained their employees in the casino sector despite the pandemic.
The company announced at the end of July that it would keep paying employees through at least October 31, and extend that period if need is and the company’s finances allow it. In the political spectrum, Adelson has mostly supported the president. Trump appointed Adelson to the “Opening Our Country Council.”
Presently, the Democrats and PACs established by Democrats supporters are outperforming pro-Trump super PACs in terms of pure funding. According to Real Clear Politics, Trump is behind Biden by 6.6 points.