By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-25 23:41:24 | Updated at 2026-08-03 17:19:08
1 week ago
GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson says the late Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and her husband spoke about Israel almost every single day for years.
Adelson made the remarks during a virtual tribute to the South Carolina Republican hosted July 21 by the Israeli-American Council, according to Jewish Insider. She said her late husband’s secretary, Betty, confirmed the near-constant contact between the casino magnate and the senator.
“There was not a day that Sheldon talk with Lindsey,” Adelson said, quoting the secretary in the video posted by InfoLibNews. “They talked about Israel. Lindsey gave him advice. Sheldon gave him advice, and they had fun.” (RELATED: Lindsey Graham’s Passing Sets Off Scramble For His South Carolina Senate Seat)
Graham died Saturday, July 11, at 71 following what his office called a brief and sudden illness. Preliminary findings from the District of Columbia medical examiner pointed to an aortic dissection tied to cardiovascular disease.
GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson pays tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham: "We met him in 1990 approximately—there was a mission of AIPAC. We took freshman congressmen—Republican—[on paid trips] to Israel."
"Every day, there was not a day that Sheldon [didn't] talk with… pic.twitter.com/iePrYkjEbH
Adelson recalled meeting Graham around 1990 during an AIPAC mission that flew freshman Republican congressmen to Israel, a trip she said she, Sheldon and two business partners paid for and donated to the group’s educational arm, according to a video posted on X.
“As a physician, I love to see the brain, the eyes are our brain, and they were so pure and blue,” Adelson said, Jewish Insider reported. “You could see what he was thinking about. He was so honest, with integrity, and Sheldon and me fell in love with him.”
The Adelsons each contributed $500,000 in July 2019 to Security is Strength, a super PAC backing Graham, Forbes reported, and the couple later gave the group $1 million during the 2020 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.
Adelson also described Graham’s distaste for gambling. On one visit to the couple’s Las Vegas Sands property alongside the late Sen. John McCain, the senator skipped the VIP room to greet tourists instead, she told the tribute audience, according to Jewish Insider.
“Lindsey loved people, and they loved him from the left, from the right,” Adelson said. “He was a fantastic person.”
She closed in tears, addressing Graham directly and calling him a good man she missed. The Republican Jewish Coalition, whose chairman Norm Coleman spoke at the same event, plans to present its first Lindsey Graham Statesman Award at its August summit in Las Vegas, Jewish Insider reported.
