Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, ending months of remaining neutral in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, said Thursday night that he plans to support presumptive nominee Donald Trump, as he was the one of the 17 running who "won fair and square."
"Yes, I'm a Republican, he's a Republican," Adelson told
The New York Times at a Manhattan dinner for the World Values Network, a Jewish organization. "He's our nominee."
In October, Trump attacked the Las Vegas billionaire, accusing him of wanting to make Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who was still months away from ending his presidential bid, as his "perfect little puppet."
But behind the scenes,
Trump and Adelson were talking, and Adelson said that after a meeting in December he found Trump to be "very charming" and that they discussed Israel.
On Thursday, Adelson said he's spoken to Trump recently, and told another reporter at the Manhattan gala that he believes Trump will be "good for Israel," The Times reports.
Many supporters of Israel, including Adelson, had found Trump's comments about remaining neutral about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, but Adelson showed signs in February that he would consider Trump, reports
Politico.
“Trump is a businessman. I am a businessman," said Adelson at the time. "He employs a lot of people. I employed 50,000 people. Why not?”
Related Stories:
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.