- Trump reportedly confronted a Republican Party mega-donor over his support for his election campaign.
- In a phone call last week, Trump asked Sheldon Adelson why he hadn’t donated more, Politico reports.
- Adelson is the billionaire owner of the world’s biggest casino company, Las Vegas Sands.
- He is expected to contribute over $100 million to Trump’s reelection bid this year.
- However, Trump reportedly questioned his support over the phone, panicking Republican Party officials.
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Donald Trump lashed out at one of the Republican Party’s biggest donors in a recent phone call, accusing him of not spending enough money on his election campaign, according to reports.
Panicked Republican Party officials tried to deescalate the situation after learning that President Trump asked casino mogul Sheldon Adelson why he hadn’t pumped more money into his bid to get reelected in November, Politico reports.
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands, has donated several tens of thousands of dollars to Trump over recent years and is expected is contribute well over $100 million to Trump in 2020.
The Guardian newspaper earlier this year reported a source as saying Adelson could spend up to $200 million.
However, despite Adelson’s huge financial backing, Trump last week turned a phone call about his economic policies into a confrontation over the mega donor’s support for his campaign, three sources familiar with the call told Politico.
Adelson, 87, decided not to retaliate, according to the Politico report, but allies said it was unclear whether he would maintain his hefty financial backing of Trump after their conversation.
Adelson, whose company runs the Venetian in Las Vegas the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, is estimated to be worth just short of $30 billion and has bankrolled numerous Republican Party candidates. He gave at least $17 million in political contributions to Newt Gingrich during his 2012 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times.
He has been a major backer of Trump, due partly to the president’s pro-Israel foreign policies like moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and ditching the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.
His support for Trump has earned him the nickname, “Trump’s Patron-in-Chief.”
