I heard a rather breathless reporter tell a radio audience this morning that Donald Trump was going to disclose today if he "actually" raised money for veterans a few months back when he held his event to do so. It seems that "questions" have been raised whether or not the cash was gathered and what Trump has done with it.
The report is part of the media attempt to paint Trump as someone who lies as often and about as serious topics as Hillary Clinton (who is also known as the Duchess of Dishonesty.) Let's do a comparison to see how that story line is working out:
1. The last lies by Hillary were exposed late last week. Hillary lied when she said that her email system was "allowed" by the State Department rules and federal law. Nope, the State Department Inspector General made clear that what Hillary did was not allowed under department rules and federal law. Hillary also told America over and over that she and her people were fully cooperating with the investigation into the email mess. Nope, the IG disclosed that Clinton and all her people stonewalled the investigation. Even the Clinton campaign spokesman had to admit that the IG was correct. That means Clinton was telling a lie.
2. The supposed lie by Trump that the reporter spoke of this morning arose from an event that Trump held at the time of one of the early debates among the GOP candidates. Trump said that he had raised six million dollars for veterans. The truth is that Trump's event ran like nearly every other charity's. It got pledges not bags of cash. Most of the time when big donors attend events, they don't come with cash or checks; instead they make a pledge that they will donate a certain amount and then give the cash in the days or months that follow. Trump's event got six million in pledges, but like most charities, Trump said that he had raised six million dollars. Now I don't know how much of the cash has been collected or disbursed. We will find out later today when that data is released. From what is available to the public so far, we do know that Trump gave the million he promised himself. It took him about two months before he actually gave the cash that he had pledged earlier.
It's worth noting that there is nothing to indicate that Trump's charitable contribution to the vets' organizations is going to benefit his campaign in any way (other than publicity of course.) That is a big difference from the "charity" that Hillary and Bill Clinton give to the Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation has operated in many ways like a political slush fund rather than a charity. Over eighty percent of the funds raised have been used for "expenses" like multi-million dollar travel expenses (much for Hillary and Bill) or like the salaries of close Clinton aides who suddenly became experts on charity and got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries. Indeed, according to their tax returns, the Clintons gave essentially no charity other than to the Clinton Foundation. It's a sweet deal for them: they give cash to the Foundation and get a tax deduction; they use the donated funds for "expenses" like travel and salaries for cronies and staff; and they send less than 20% to groups actually helping those in need. In other words, calling the Clinton Foundation a "charity" is an enormous lie. But for the media, they want to focus on Trump's fundraiser for the vets.
The report is part of the media attempt to paint Trump as someone who lies as often and about as serious topics as Hillary Clinton (who is also known as the Duchess of Dishonesty.) Let's do a comparison to see how that story line is working out:
1. The last lies by Hillary were exposed late last week. Hillary lied when she said that her email system was "allowed" by the State Department rules and federal law. Nope, the State Department Inspector General made clear that what Hillary did was not allowed under department rules and federal law. Hillary also told America over and over that she and her people were fully cooperating with the investigation into the email mess. Nope, the IG disclosed that Clinton and all her people stonewalled the investigation. Even the Clinton campaign spokesman had to admit that the IG was correct. That means Clinton was telling a lie.
2. The supposed lie by Trump that the reporter spoke of this morning arose from an event that Trump held at the time of one of the early debates among the GOP candidates. Trump said that he had raised six million dollars for veterans. The truth is that Trump's event ran like nearly every other charity's. It got pledges not bags of cash. Most of the time when big donors attend events, they don't come with cash or checks; instead they make a pledge that they will donate a certain amount and then give the cash in the days or months that follow. Trump's event got six million in pledges, but like most charities, Trump said that he had raised six million dollars. Now I don't know how much of the cash has been collected or disbursed. We will find out later today when that data is released. From what is available to the public so far, we do know that Trump gave the million he promised himself. It took him about two months before he actually gave the cash that he had pledged earlier.
It's worth noting that there is nothing to indicate that Trump's charitable contribution to the vets' organizations is going to benefit his campaign in any way (other than publicity of course.) That is a big difference from the "charity" that Hillary and Bill Clinton give to the Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation has operated in many ways like a political slush fund rather than a charity. Over eighty percent of the funds raised have been used for "expenses" like multi-million dollar travel expenses (much for Hillary and Bill) or like the salaries of close Clinton aides who suddenly became experts on charity and got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries. Indeed, according to their tax returns, the Clintons gave essentially no charity other than to the Clinton Foundation. It's a sweet deal for them: they give cash to the Foundation and get a tax deduction; they use the donated funds for "expenses" like travel and salaries for cronies and staff; and they send less than 20% to groups actually helping those in need. In other words, calling the Clinton Foundation a "charity" is an enormous lie. But for the media, they want to focus on Trump's fundraiser for the vets.
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