U.S. President Donald Trump held a heated phone call this past week American Jewish magnate Sheldon Adelson, Republican officials said, in which Trump asked the GOP megadonor to contribute even more to his reelection campaign.
According to Politico, Adelson called Trump to discuss the U.S. aid bill for pandemic relief and the economy, but the president steered the conversation to the November vote and demanded to know why Adelson "wasn’t doing more to bolster his reelection."
Politico cited three people who were familiar with the call, and reported that one of the three had said "it was apparent the president had no idea how much Adelson, who’s donated tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump efforts over the years, had helped him."
The report said that Adelson "chose not to come back at Trump."
The call reportedly "alarmed" GOP officials, who feared upsetting one of Trump's most generous donors in the run-up to a challenging election.
The officials "rushed to smooth things over," the report said, but it was unclear whether Adelson was ready to be mollified or whether the call would impact on his future donations this cycle.
Adelson has been a staunch supporter of Trump since before the 2016 election that put him in the White House. The casino magnate and his Israeli-born wife Miriam donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race and another $100 million to the Republican Party for the 2018 Congressional elections.
They also gave $10 million to a pro-Trump political action committee (PAC) in 2018 and each donated more than half a million dollars during this cycle, the New York Times reported.
With less than 100 days until the November election, in which Trump will presumably face off against former vice president and current front runner Joe Biden, the president is focusing on fundraising to bankroll the final stretch as her faces the prospect of being outraised by his rival.
After a fundraiser at a yacht club on Lake Erie on Thursday, Trump raised money at a pair of events Saturday in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island, including one hosted by his eldest son.
On Sunday, before returning to Washington, Trump was scheduled to attend another, in Deal, New Jersey, at the the home of the late Stanley Chera, a friend and donor who died in April from the coronavirus.