GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson revealed that the late Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and her husband, Sheldon Adelson, spoke about Israel almost every day for years. Adelson made these remarks during a virtual tribute to Graham hosted on July 21, 2026, by the Israeli-American Council, as reported by Jewish Insider.

Adelson quoted her late husband's secretary, Betty, confirming the near-constant contact between the casino magnate and the senator: “There was not a day that Sheldon talk with Lindsey. They talked about Israel. Sheldon gave him advice, and they had fun.”

She recalled meeting Graham around 1990 during an AIPAC mission that flew freshman Republican congressmen to Israel. Adelson said she, Sheldon, and two business partners paid for and donated the trip to the group’s educational arm. “We met him in 1990 approximately—there was a mission of AIPAC. We took freshman congressmen—Republican—[on paid trips] to Israel,” she said.

Adelson, a physician, also commented on Graham's character, saying, “As a physician, I love to see the brain, the eyes are our brain, and they were so pure and blue. You could see what he was thinking about.”

Senator Graham died on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at age 71 following a brief and sudden illness. The Adelsons had supported Graham politically, contributing $500,000 each in July 2019 to Security is Strength, a super PAC backing Graham, and later donating $1 million during the 2020 cycle.

Sources