Sheldon Adelson backs Donald Trump, says he’s good for Israel

News Brief

Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson speaking at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2014 at The Venetian Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 1, 2014. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson said he will back Donald Trump now that Trump has locked up the Republican Party’s presidential nomination

“Yes, I’m a Republican, he’s a Republican. He’s our nominee,” the New York Times quoted Adelson, who is Jewish and has donated millions to Israel and Jewish causes, as saying Thursday night in replying a question on whether he supports Trump. “Whoever the nominee would turn out to be, any one of the 17 — he was one of the 17. He won fair and square,” said Adelson.

Adelson spoke to reporters Thursday night as he appeared at a gala in New York for the World Values Network. He also said Trump would be “good for Israel,” the Times reported.

Adelson, who donated more than $90 million to federal political races in 2012, is among the Republican Party’s most heavily courted contributors. In a departure from the 2012 race, when he spent heavily to boost Newt Gingrich’s unsuccessful primary bid, Adelson had remained neutral in the 2016 nomination battle.

Earlier Thursday, one of Trump’s rivals for the nomination, former Texas governor Rick Perry, told CNN he would “do what I can” to help Trump get elected.

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