Media Analysis

Adelsons got a lot from Trump for $75 million — but media won’t tell you what

The news late yesterday was that Sheldon and Miriam Adelson poured $75 million in September into a new super PAC that supports Donald Trump. Way more money than other donors, on either side.

Many news outlets have now reported the outsized sum, which is plainly important to Trump’s flailing campaign. Oddly, none of them is reporting the Adelsons’ number one issue, Israel, or the fact that Miriam Adelson is Israeli, or that the Adelsons are close to Netanyahu, or that our transactional president has done just about everything Israel wants. Nope, the big story is still Russian influence.

AP has a sizeable story on the donation with Sheldon Adelson’s name in the headline, but a neutral characterization:

A major funder of Republican causes, Adelson has donated over $250 million to GOP candidates and super PACs since 2015.

CNN has the Adelsons in their headline, but the donation seems to be about Miriam’s Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2018, Trump bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s highest civilian honor — on Miriam Adelson, citing her philanthropic work.

Politico’s report, titled “Adelsons pour $75 million into last-ditch effort to save Trump,” says nothing about Israel but counts up all the Adelsons’ largesse:

The money for Preserve America brought the Adelsons’ giving to Republican candidates and committees to a whopping $176 million for the 2020 election cycle, according to FEC data.

In two reports, NPR also failed to say a word about the Adelsons’ agenda, though it also cited the medal and another angle: “in April of this year [Trump] appointed Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of Las Vegas Sands, to his council of business leaders who would advise him on reopening the country.”

Donald Trump giving Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Feb. 2019. AP shot.

As Trump himself said last month, his foreign policy has been “good for Israel.”

 I withdrew from the last administration’s disastrous Iran nuclear deal. So good for Israel. So good that we did that. 

His list of pro-Israel actions includes moving the embassy to Jerusalem, defunding the UN refugee agency serving Palestinians, closing down the Palestinian mission in Washington, recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, giving legal validity to Israel’s colonization of the West Bank, lately harsh sanctions and belligerent language aimed at Iran, and on and on. It’s obvious that all these actions are what Adelson wants. He helped found the organization One Jerusalem to stop a Palestinian state, says Palestinians are not a people but are actually “southern Syrians”, and called on the last president to nuke Iran. He has been in attendance at major Trump policy announcements on the issue.

When Trump trashed the Iran deal in 2018, Eli Clifton was blunt about his reasons: “three billionaires paved the way,” including Adelson, Bernard Marcus, and Paul Singer, all Israel supporters. A recent NY Times retrospective on the 2016 campaign was also more frank about Adelson’s interest: “gambling magnate, Republican megadonor and strident voice for Israel.”

But today Adelson is in the headlines, at a crunch time in the presidential campaign, when voters are scrutinizing Trump’s record, and alleged Russian influence is in the news every day– and the media avoid the Israel influence like a hot stove.

Adelson himself is brash about his interest. He says he wished he’d have served in the Israeli army not the American one, he owns a leading Israeli newspaper and funds an organization for free Jewish American tourism to Israel so that young Jews will marry Israelis. He calls Trump all the time, per Alan Dershowitz, and has told Trump, “the biggest thing you did for Israel” was breaking the Iran deal, Trump himself said.

We understand why the media are squeamish about the issue. They don’t want to feed the antisemitic claim that rich Jews control politicians. But in the Adelson case, there’s no trope. He’s not working behind the scenes. He openly loves Israel, is married to an Israeli, and Trump has even acknowledged his influence. Adelson has gotten what he paid for. It’s appalling that there’s been no coverage of this angle. At least AP tried to call Adelson.

And we can only imagine what these Israel supporters are giving Trump in October…

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https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/10/04/best-government-money-can-buy/
“Best Government Money Can Buy” By Philip M. Giraldi October 6/18, 
EXCERPTS:
“Very few Americans know who Sheldon Adelson is & fewer still appreciate that, as America’s leading political donor, when he speaks the Republican Party listens. By virtue of his largesse, he has been able to direct GOP policy in the Middle East in favor of Israel, which might well be regarded as his true home while the United States exists more as a faithful friend that can be produced at intervals whenever Israel finds itself in need of a bit of cash or political cover.

“Adelson’s recent successes in translating his political donations into policy favorable to Israel have included shifting the US Embassy to Jerusalem, cutting aid to Palestinians, ending the Iranian nuclear monitoring agreement & closing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s diplomatic office in Washington. All those Trump Administration measures were reportedly worked out privately by Adelson speaking directly with the president.

“Adelson’s activities in buying politicians reflect what he believes, he reportedly having said that ‘there’s no such thing as a Palestinian.’ Nor does his world view include much concern for the country that has sheltered him & made him wealthy. He served in the US Army in World War 2 and has said that he regrets having done so, as he would rather have worn an Israeli army uniform. He also expressed his desire that his son might become an Israeli Army sniper.

“Adelson benefits from his exceptional access to the White House to the detriment of actual American interests. A New York Times article ‘Sheldon Adelson Sees a Lot to Like in Trump’s Washington,’ states that he ‘enjoys a direct line to the president’ and ‘meets the president monthly in private in-person meetings and phone conversations.’ He has been delighted with the openly expressed threats emanating from the Administration’s key foreign and national security policy spokesmen regarding Iran. He would like to see the United States go to war with the Iranians to destroy their government and bring about some kind of regime change, and, judging from recent developments, he just might get what he seeks, which could easily have catastrophic consequences for the entire region and beyond.” (cont’d)

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“Adelson is also widely believed to have had a hand in personnel changes in the White House. He has used his money and influence to advance the careers of United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while also arranging the removal of H.R. McMaster and Rex Tillerson for ‘being anti-Israeli’ and not sufficiently willing to go to war with Iran. Defense Secretary James Mattis, the only actual adult remaining in the room when foreign policy is discussed, is believed to be the next target for removal.”

“How does Adelson do it? Money talks. He is worth an estimated $35 billion. His fortune came from casinos both in the US and in China, which some might consider to be promotion of vice. To buy and maintain the Republican support for right wing Zionist policies he has donated what is for him pocket change, $55 million so far this year in support of GOP candidates in the Midterm elections. In 2016, he gave large sums to the Trump campaign and to other Republicans, donating $35 million to the former and $55 million to two top Republican PACs — the Congressional Leadership Fund and the Senate Leadership Fund.”

“In America’s corrupt political culture, a monster like Sheldon Adelson can buy both a White House and Congress on behalf of a foreign government for a paltry $150 million or so. It is a reasonable investment for him given his views, as through him Israel is able to control a large slice of American foreign policy while also receiving billions of dollars each year from the US Treasury.”

Adelson’s super-pac is “Preserve America”**, here it is: https://preserveamericapac.com/

Joe Biden Is Digging A Hole for WorkersJoe Biden Won’t Keep Us SafeJoe Biden Will Burn Down Our EconomyJoe Biden Won’t Protect SeniorsJoe Biden Will Ship American Jobs OverseasJoe Biden Won’t Stand Up For Law EnforcementJoe Biden Is Too Weak To LeadJoe Biden Is Unfit To Be PresidentJoe Biden Will Hike Our Taxes Through The RoofMake Government, not the family, the central focus of American life

** presumably the 1850 version

There is clearly a media blockade on this type of information. This article must be shared far and wide.

“We understand why the media are squeamish about the issue. They don’t want to feed the antisemitic claim that rich Jews control politicians.”
_____________________________

I think its more than not wanting to feed anti-semitism. I’d say most in the media know Israel is skating on ice and don’t want to provide information that could be seen as a threat. And don’t want to risk their position for being seen as being independent, adding weight.

Here lies the main reason Abbas needs a public relations consulting firm. To overcome media influence and to figure out what, when, and how to communicate to the Americans. Information underpins public opinion which in turn underpins politics. America is a system of competing interests and those who don’t compete, lose. Palestinians have a support army out there that needs to be nourished.