Adelson reportedly turned off by Trump, holding back on donations

Jewish multi-billionaire business magnate and casino owner Sheldon Adelson is one of many major Republican donors who have previously given generous donations but this year are avoiding lending their financial support to Republican nominee Donald Trump, British daily The Guardian reported Saturday.

According to the report, Adelson is “irked by a lot of things,” including that Trump did not make a visit that Adelson wanted him to make to Israel, and that the Republican nominee chose Mike Pence as his vice presidential candidate instead of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Adelson and other major donors are focusing their funding on congressional races as fears mount that the Republicans will lose control of the House because of Trump’s weak poll numbers, The Guardian reported. 

Adelson gave his endorsement for Trump earlier this year, and said that he would donate $100 million to his campaign. Speaking at a gala dinner in Manhattan for the World Values Network, a Jewish organization, Adelson said of Trump: "He's our nominee. Whoever the nominee would turn out to be, any one of the 17 — he was one of the 17. He won fair and square."

Despite Trump initially attacking Adelson on Twitter in October, when he said that the newspaper owner wanted to make competing candidate Marco Rubio "his perfect little puppet," relations between the two have since warmed: The pair met in December and discussed Israel, after which Adelson said he found Trump to be "very charming."

Adelson also told another journalist that he believed Trump would be "good for Israel." Adelson, who owns daily free-sheet Israel Hayom, the most widely-read newspaper in Israel, has previously said that his main consideration when choosing which US presidential candidate to support is the safety of Israel.

More than half of respondents in a new poll said they plan to vote for Hillary Clinton -- the first time the Democratic presidential candidate has breached that all-important 50 percent threshold.

The poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University found the former secretary of state leading Trump 51 to 41 percent in a head to head race.

"We are starting to hear the faint rumblings of a Hillary Clinton landslide as her 10-point lead is further proof that Donald Trump is in a downward spiral as the clock ticks," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Support for Clinton falls below 50 percent if third-party candidates are thrown into the equation.

The former first lady gets 45 percent, with Trump polling 38 percent, when Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party contender Jill Stein are added to the mix.

Johnson gets 10 percent and Stein is at 4 percent in the Quinnipiac poll.

Trump's campaign has stumbled in recent weeks after a series of perceived gaffes. Commentators say it has struggled to make the transition from the scrappy party nomination fight to the battle to become US commander in chief.

"Trump's missteps, stumbles and gaffes seem to outweigh Clinton's shaky trust status and perceived shady dealings. Wow, is there any light at the end of this dark and depressing chapter in American politics?" Malloy said.

Staff with agencies