Republican sources believe billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson will boost Newt Gingrich’s chances of becoming the vice-presidential nominee

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Newt Gingrich’s prospects of joining the Republican presidential ticket as Donald Trump’s running mate are expected to get a boost from mega donor Sheldon Adelson, say three conservatives with links to Gingrich or the casino billionaire.



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Adelson has pledged $100m to back Trump’s White House bid – and the sources familiar with Adelson and Gingrich said they think close ties between the two men who share ardent and hawkish pro-Israel views, should help the former House speaker’s chances.

Adelson has long been close to Gingrich, who had a hand in convincing him to back Trump last month, and the Las Vegas mogul is known as a hands-on donor.



“Given Adelson’s respect for Newt and that Gingrich encouraged Adelson to back Trump, it would make sense that Adelson has been pushing Gingrich for vice-president,” said one senior Republican operative who talks to Gingrich fairly often.

“Clearly Adelson knows Gingrich’s long-standing commitment to Israel, and having him on the ticket would give him great comfort,” said Rick Tyler, a former Gingrich press aide who stays in touch with him. Tyler, an analyst with MSNBC, said: “It would not surprise me if Adelson was promoting Newt for vice-president.”

Michael Epstein, a Maryland donor close to Adelson, who said last month he would vote for Trump but “hold my nose and pray”, feels better about Gingrich. “He’s extremely knowledgeable on foreign policy issues and understands the legislative process very well,” he said.

Gingrich declined to comment on whether he believes Adelson will back him as vice-president and boost his prospects.



Gingrich has spent months pitching Trump to lobbyists, lawmakers and conservative media.

He has privately touted the presumptive nominee to an elite group of some 40 corporate lawyers at a meeting hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, say conservative sources. And Gingrich has bashed Mitt Romney for his “pathetic” anti-Trump efforts, and attacked the Bush family for not supporting Trump.

Four GOP sources with ties to Gingrich told the Guardian he was one of a few old allies of Adelson who helped reassure the casino mogul about Trump’s conservative bona fides on Israel and other issues.

“I believe Gingrich had a hand in persuading Adelson,” said former congressman Bill Zeliff, a Trump supporter, now a lobbyist in Washington. “Wherever Newt goes he’s promoting Trump.”



Similar points were made last month by a Republican operative who talks to Gingrich periodically. He claimed: “Newt’s been trying to sell Sheldon on Trump for months.”

Asked to respond to statements by GOP sources who know him that he had touted Trump’s credentials to Adelson, Gingrich replied in an email: “I have never discussed Trump with Adelson.” Pressed with specific quotes, Gingrich said: “Simply not true.”

Adelson, who donated $15m to a Super Pac to boost Gingrich’s failed 2012 presidential bid, has been close to him since the mid-1990s when they bonded over mutual concerns about Israel, Adelson’s top issue.



Last month, Adelson formally endorsed Trump and at a meeting between the two tycoons last month Adelson pledged $100m to help him win in November.



Much of the Adelson funds are expected to go to a Super Pac that Adelson and his top political aide are now building with well-known Republican operatives. Adelson has touted the merits of a Trump trip to Israel and is working with conservative allies to lay the groundwork for a visit this summer, according to multiple sources close to the casino owner.

Gingrich called Adelson’s endorsement as a “very big signal,” to other donors and GOP insiders. “Everyone knows Sheldon is a very serious man and to have Sheldon come in as strong as he did will help,” Gingrich said.



For his part, Gingrich hasn’t been coy about his interest in the number two slot: in mid-May on Fox News Sunday, Gingrich conceded he could be “lured” to join the ticket, noting that if the offer was good, he would be “hard pressed not to say yes”.



Trump has shown his appreciation for Gingrich, calling him “such a great guy” and said he was “absolutely” on his short list of potential candidates. Trump is also reportedly looking at Tennessee senator Bob Corker, Iowa senator Joni Ernst and Chris Christie, whose own bid for the Republican nomination failed.

Gingrich, 72, might have an edge: he rose to fame in 1994 with the Contract with America, a conservative blueprint he co-authored, before resigning as speaker in 1998 after facing ethics investigations and internal leadership fights. Campaign chairman Paul Manafort has said Trump “wants a vice-president who knows Washington, is able to deal with the Congress and could be viewed as somebody who could be president”.



Since leaving Congress, Gingrich has become a multimillionaire: he owns media firm, Gingrich Productions, gives high-paid speeches and is a senior adviser at law firm Dentons.

Gingrich could “provide big think strategy on how to get Washington moving,” says one GOP lobbyist and fundraiser. But several GOP operatives believe Gingrich wouldn’t add much to the ticket, and some note that he and Trump together have had six wives and are both unconventional and volatile.

Gingrich’s sales pitch for Trump has stressed that the real estate mogul could expand the GOP’s electoral reach, like Ronald Reagan in 1980. For months, he’s also peppered the campaign with advice.

“I’m confident he’s advising the Trump campaign on a wide array of issues on many levels,” says Tyler. Gingrich’s advice can be like “an addiction. Before you know it you’re dependent on him for advice on almost every aspect of the campaign.”

“I believe he talks to Trump regularly and to Manafort often,” adds one senior GOP operative, who concurs that Gingrich offers advice on multiple topics. He has also pitched in by reaching out to Republican operatives to help fill some slots in the campaign, say conservative sources.



Asked if he talks to Trump and Manafort about multiple issues, Gingrich replied: “I try to help the campaign.”

At the weekend, Gingrich told the Washington Post he took Trump to task for criticising a judge’s Mexican heritage.

“I don’t know what Trump’s reasoning was, and I don’t care,” Gingrich said in an email. “His description of the judge in terms of his parentage is completely unacceptable.”

Gingrich urged Trump to begin listening to advisers and others about how to run his general-election campaign.

“If Trump doesn’t start consulting and coordinating with his allies, he will not have any,” Gingrich wrote.









