GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson to fund colossal super PAC for Trump

Republican megadonor and casino billionaire Miriam Adelson plans to help bankroll a massive super PAC for Donald Trump as he seeks to close his financial gap with President Joe Biden.

Adelson is planning to play a major role in funding Preserve America, a pro-Trump super PAC founded during the former president's 2020 reelection campaign. The group is now being reconstituted for the purpose of helping Trump's 2024 bid, according to a person with direct knowledge of her plans who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

How much Adelson will donate to the super PAC is not clear, though the person familiar with her plans said the group was expecting to spend more than it did four years ago when Adelson and her late husband, Sheldon, donated $90 million to Preserve America. Their funds accounted for about 85 percent of what the organization raised in total.

Adelson, who is the principal shareholder of Las Vegas Sands and who also has a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks with her son-in-law, has an estimated net worth of $33.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Adelson’s expected investment represents a major boost for Trump, who has been cultivating her as part of a broader effort to bring major GOP donors into the fold. The former president has met with Adelson a handful of times in recent months and has also spoken with her on the phone, according to another person familiar with the talks. Adelson decided to sit out the Republican primary despite being wooed by a number of candidates.

Trump has been looking to make up a substantial fundraising gap with Biden and is leaning on big donors for help. Through the end of April, Biden’s campaign account had $84 million cash on hand, compared to $49 million for Trump.

Adelson’s relationship with Trump stretches back years. Miriam and Sheldon had a seat on the dais at Trump’s 2017 inauguration, and in 2018 Trump awarded Miriam, a physician who specializes in drug addiction rehabilitation, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a 2021 POLITICO story about Miriam Adelson’s political activity, Trump praised her as a “wonderful woman who her husband loved greatly and, at the same time, respected for her great intelligence.”

Dave Carney, a longtime Republican Party strategist who advises Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and has previously worked for a number of presidential candidates, will lead the organization. Carney is known for his aggressive political tactics: A 2022 profile in the Texas Observer described him as “Abbott’s Attack Dog.” Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick, a close Trump ally who attended the hush money trial last week, praised Carney in a statement as "an experienced hand well versed in running big races, in the hundreds of million dollars.”

During the 2020 campaign, Preserve America was overseen by Chris LaCivita. LaCivita is now serving as Trump’s co-campaign manager and is no longer active with the super PAC.

“Joe Biden is ruining our country with high prices, open borders and weakness abroad. We’re going to do everything we can to stop him and return President Trump to the White House to put America First once again,” Carney said in a statement.

Those familiar with Preserve America’s plans say the group is expected to raise money from other donors in addition to Adelson. While the Adelson couple gave the group the vast majority of its funds in 2020, it also drew checks from other major GOP givers including investor Warren Stephens, businessperson Ronald Cameron and construction executive Diane Hendricks. In total, the organization drew contributions from nearly a hundred people, according to campaign finance records.

Like her late husband Sheldon, the Tel Aviv-born Adelson has long been an outspoken supporter of Israel. Adelson, who is the publisher of the Israel Hayom newspaper, compared the Oct. 7 attack on Israel to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 in a speech late last year.

Preserve America will be one of several pro-Trump super PACs. The primary vehicle has been MAGA Inc., an organization whose fundraising events Trump has appeared at, and which is being overseen by Trump ally Taylor Budowich. A more recently created outfit is Right for America, which is being bankrolled by Trump friend and former Marvel Entertainment executive Ike Perlmutter. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former Trump primary opponent who is now reestablishing his relationship with the former president, has been helping to raise money for Right for America.