August 26, 2016 02:30 PM UTC

Mizel Bucks Trend of Jewish Republicans Avoiding Trump

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• by: Colorado Pols

Denver businessman and influential political donor Larry Mizel hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump in Aspen on Thursday, at least the second major fundraiser organized by Mizel for Trump in the last two months.

We’ve wondered before in this space why Mizel is so supportive of Trump when many major Jewish philanthropists won’t go anywhere near the GOP nominee for President. We’re wondering some more after an interesting article published today in the Jerusalem Post:

While several Jewish hedge fund managers have donated significant sums – including investor Carl Icahn, Trump’s old friend, and Cerberus Capital Management CEO Stephen Feinberg – most major billionaire GOP donors have held out, including Elliott Management Corporation founder Paul Singer, Baupost Group founder and Times of Israel backer Seth Klarman, head of TRT Holdings Robert Rowling, mega Florida auto dealer and former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles Norman Braman and CAM Capital chairman Bruce Kovner.

Several of these men are instead focusing on competitive races that may tip the balance of power in the Senate…

…On the whole, Republican Jewish Coalition board members have given far less than the $12m. they offered Romney’s campaign in 2012. They reflect their skeptical membership, which has in turn been reflected in the RJC’s campaign strategy: Not once since May has the organization mentioned Trump’s name in its advertising material.

Perhaps the biggest question for Trump is whether Sheldon Adelson, the largest donor in the 2012 race, will follow through on his commitment to deliver major donations to his campaign. As of now, Adelson has not donated a dime, despite publicly endorsing the nominee in May and pledging financial support.

Even Sheldon Adelson has yet to give Trump any money, and Adelson hasn’t been shy about his interest in buying a Presidential candidate.

Look, Mizel is certainly free to support whomever he wants whenever he chooses — even when many friends and fellow donors won’t touch Trump. That doesn’t make it any less odd that a prominent Jewish philanthropist would be working so hard to help a candidate whose rhetoric seems to delight anti-Semitics, white supremacists, and other “alt right” conservatives.