Trump's future on the line as big time donors gather in Las Vegas to 'window-shop' alternative candidates
According to a report from CNN, Donald Trump will make a video appearance and address the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Saturday to make his pitch to wealthy donors who are casting about for alternatives to him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The report notes that many of the former president's rivals will actually be in attendance which could rob him of his chance to get assurances that donations will be forthcoming.
According to the report, "Trump still retains a 'following' within the party, Mel Sembler, a Florida real-estate developer and GOP donor who sits on the coalition’s board, told CNN this week. But, he said, 'I think people are getting tired of his controversies all the time.'"
Sembler, who has not made a commitment for 2024, added, "What concerns me is if he wins the primary and loses the general.”
As the report notes, there are rising concerns that the former president is not a viable candidate and those worries have grown since the midterm elections didn't deliver the GOP majorities that donors and the Republican Party leadership counted on -- with Trump being fingered as the likely culprit for the election day flop.
The CNN report points out that Trump has already been on the receiving end of donors fleeing him, with CNN noting, "Perhaps the biggest blow to Trump’s campaign infrastructure was the swift and public defection of several billionaire GOP donors – including a close ally, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman – who said the country needed leaders 'rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday.'"
"Others are hedging their bets," CNN is reporting. "Among those playing the field is Miriam Adelson, the billionaire widow of Las Vegas casino magnate and RJC benefactor Sheldon Adelson. The Adelsons have donated nearly a half-billion dollars to Republican groups and candidates in the last four election cycles – including tens of millions to boost Trump’s presidential ambitions, federal records show."
Of concern to Trump are reports that Adelson may sit out the primary and then pick her candidate, with CNN reporting, "Adelson intends to remain neutral in the GOP presidential primaries, an aide confirmed to CNN this week. Adelson, whose political contributions have slowed some since her husband’s death in January 2021, has indicated that she will financially support the eventual GOP nominee, whether that be Trump or someone else."
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