Sheldon Adelson: Trump in the White House ‘is the only way things will get better’
The multibillionaire casino businessman and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson endorsed Donald Trump early Friday morning, urging fellow Republican donors and party members to unite behind the presumptive nominee.
“While the primary cycle still has some important elections ahead, it is clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president,” he wrote in a Washington Post commentary. “I am endorsing Trump’s bid for president and strongly encourage my fellow Republicans — especially our Republican elected officials, party loyalists and operatives, and those who provide important financial backing — to do the same.”
Adelson, one of the Republican Party’s largest donors, has given generously to presidential candidates in the past. He donated at least $155 million in the 2012 presidential cycle along with his wife Miriam, at least $30 million of which went to a Mitt Romney super PAC. He was wooed by several GOP candidates during this election’s primaries but ultimately withheld an endorsement. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, which his family secretly purchased late last year, did endorse Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida before he dropped out of the race in March.
Adelson wrote that though he doesn’t agree with Trump “on every issue,” the real estate businessman is “a CEO success story that exemplifies the American spirit of determination, commitment to cause and business stewardship.”
"You may not like Trump’s style or what he says on Twitter, but this country needs strong executive leadership more today than at almost any point in its history,” he added. “The world is less secure than ever, and our allies have lost confidence in our ability to lead. The economy is not growing the way it should.”
Adelson chided Republicans who have withheld their own endorsements or announced they would rather vote for the Democratic nominee. Several, including four of the last five Republican nominees, have said they will sit out the party convention in Cleveland that will officially give Trump the nomination.
“As Republicans, we know that getting a person in the White House with an ‘R’ behind his name is the only way things will get better,” he wrote. “That opportunity still exists. We must not cut off our noses to spite our faces. If Republicans do not come together in support of Trump, Obama will essentially be granted something the Constitution does not allow — a third term in the name of Hillary Clinton.”
“Trump has created a movement in this country that cannot be denied. He will end this primary election cycle having garnered more Republican primary votes for president than anyone before,” he added. “Republicans have the candidate who the people decided is our winner from a field of 17 viable contenders. It’s time for all Republicans to mount up and back our nominee.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 5:21 AM with the headline "Sheldon Adelson: Trump in the White House ‘is the only way things will get better’."