"And we moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem. That's for the Evangelicals. You know, it's amazing: The Evangelicals are more excited about that than Jewish people. That's really - right? It's incredible."
Aside from brazenly admitting to pursuing a major foreign policy upset to woo voters, what's interesting about this is who Trump is cutting out of the story: Sheldon Adelson, who reportedly gave him $20M in exchange for a promise to move the embassy.
nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/…
nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/…
Not so this time around: the Adelsons are withholding support from Trump's campaign, which has angered the President. The Adelsons are "concerned about the optics of funding political campaigns at a time when their employees are facing financial hardship."
nytimes.com/2020/08/16/us/…
nytimes.com/2020/08/16/us/…
The Adelsons btw have been paying every one of their employees full wages and benefits since the beginning of the pandemic, even when the casinos were closed, and have committed to doing so through October.
forward.com/opinion/443037…
forward.com/opinion/443037…
But Trump's comments reveal something else that's interesting: He's not wrong about American Jews and the embassy. Though American Jews are deeply attached to Israel, they don't vote on it. It was the last in a list of 16 (!) priorities, acc to one poll.
jewishelectorateinstitute.org/poll-domestic-…
jewishelectorateinstitute.org/poll-domestic-…
I mean, it's a lot of priorities! I don't have 16 priorities. I tap out at seven.
