“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,” said Adelson’s Op-Ed
which appeared on the Washington Post’s website early Friday. “The
world is less secure than ever, and our allies have lost confidence in
our ability to lead.”
Adelson had been hesitant to settle on an
endorsee this election after his experience in 2012, when his financial
backing kept his friend Newt Gingrich in the race, forcing Mitt Romney,
the then front-runner, to spend a lot of money early in the primary
season. Adelson and his wife Miriam spent at least $20 million on political action committees backing Gingrich.
Romney campaign veterans now say that expenditure was crippling when the
former Massachusetts governor faced then-Sen. Barack Obama in the
general election, although the Adelsons backed Romney when he secured
the nomination.
Trump has stoked concerns among Republican
Jews because of his Israel posture – he made, and then seemed to walk
back, a pledge to stay neutral when it came to negotiating
Israeli-Palestinian peace, and he has said he would make Israel pay for
U.S. defense assistance.
But Adelson, a major backer of Israel and its
prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his worries about Iran fueled
his decision.
“For nearly eight years, Republicans have fought tooth and nail against President Obama and his policies,” he said.
“We waged battles over debt, government
spending, Obamacare and the Iran nuclear deal — an issue of paramount
importance to me personally and to many others around the world … 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.”
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