Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson says he will support Donald Trump

Which Republican will win the Adelson primary?
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

As soon as he became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump dropped his opposition to large donations and super PACs, and started working to build up a war chest with the Republican National Committee. He got some good financial news on Thursday night, when fellow Republican billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson said he will support Trump. "Yes, I'm a Republican, he's a Republican," Adelson told The New York Times at a World Value Network gala in New York City. "He's our nominee. Whoever the nominee would turn out to be, any one of the 17 — he was one of the 17. He won fair and square."

Trump wasn't Adelson's first choice for GOP nominee, but the two men met in December, and Adelson said they discussed Israel and he found Trump "very charming." Trump is winning over other deep-pocketed Republicans, too, either through charm or lack of other options. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), whose family bankrolled an anti-Trump super PAC, Our Principles, will endorse Trump at a rally on Friday, his aides said. In February, Trump threatened the governor's family, tweeting: "I hear the Rickets family, who owns the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful; they have a lot to hide." But Ricketts "has said for months that he would support the Republican nominee," said spokesman Taylor Gage.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.