Hillary Clinton is returning to public spotlight. She has attended a few events since she lost the presidential race in November, but today several upcoming events were announced. The biggest announcement was from publisher Simon & Schuster who will publish a collection of personal essays by Clinton this fall. The book is described to include a number of her favorite quotes to “tell stories from her life, up to and including her experiences in the 2016 presidential campaign.” Simon & Schuster also announced a children’s book version of Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village, will be released in September. The new edition will feature illustrations by Marla Frazee and all proceeds will be donated to charity.
It was also announced that she will be returning to the speech circuit with several events planned in the coming months. The most notable will be a commencement address at Wellesley College, her alma mater. Clinton gained notoriety for becoming the first student speaker at her own commencement in 1969. Other speeches on tap for Clinton include an event at the United States Postal Service honoring fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, a speech organized by Vital Voices on International Women’s Day, and a speech at a New York LGBT Community Center. Clinton will also resume her paid speeches through the Harry Walker Agency. For a list of Clinton’s upcoming events, see our Scheduled Events page.
The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold published yet another explosive report revealing Trump’s lack of charitable giving, despite his history of making dramatic public promises of donations, and detailing Trump’s misuse of his foundation. Hillary Clinton highlighted the new report in her remarks today at Wilton Manors, saying it was “truly stunning.”
Washington Post: “For as long as he has been rich and famous, Donald Trump has also wanted people to believe he is generous … It was, in large part, a facade. A months-long investigation by The Washington Post has not been able to verify many of Trump’s boasts about his philanthropy.”
Slate: “The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has spent months going through records and talking to people to try to figure out whether Donald Trump is really as charitable as he claims to be. At this point in the campaign, it should surprise no one that the answer is no... Although Trump, particularly through his foundation, did give some money to charity over the years, much of it was self-serving and the dollar amounts of his contributions were often much less than what he made it seem.”
Today in Wilton Manors, Hillary Clinton highlights Trump’s “charitable giving, or lack thereof.”
“But yesterday the Washington Post published a report that was truly stunning. It starts with the story of a ribbon-cutting back in 1996 for a nursery school serving children living with HIV and AIDS in New York. Now, let me say, this is important in part to remember. This is a story about children with HIV and AIDS. So there was a big celebration honoring the donors who had supported the nursery school, and all the kids and their families, for whom this was the most important thing you can imagine. Because you know, back in the ‘90s, some of you remember. Right? Children weren’t welcomed in school.
And then, unannounced and uninvited, guess who barges in? Donald Trump. He walks right up to the stage. He sat down in the seat that was being saved for a local developer who had made a generous donation. None of the people working for the charity knew why he was there. He wasn’t a donor at all. He had never given a single dollar to help build the school. He just wanted people to think he had. So he sat on the stage through the program, even posed for photographs, and when it was over, he got up and walked out. No explanation. No donation. Now really, who does that? What kind of person does that? Really? I mean, who pretends to help kids with HIV and AIDS in order to make themselves look good? Well, I’ll tell you: The same kind of person who would pull a bait and switch on a high school chess team.
Back in 1997, he was principal for a day at a public school. That was a program we used to have in New York. The chess team was holding a bake sale to raise money to travel to a tournament. They were $5,000 short. He walked up to them and handed them a fake million dollar bill. At first the kids and their parents were excited. Then they were devastated to learn it was a joke. So he gave them 200 bucks and drove away in his limousine. Now, this story does have a happy ending because a woman read the story about Donald Trump’s behavior, called the school, and donated the $5,000. And the coach remembers this woman saying, “I am ashamed to be the same species as this man.”
Just this morning, Kellyanne Conway was pressed on Trump’s false philanthropy and was unable to provide any evidence that Fahrenthold’s reporting was anything other than spot-on.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Tim Kaine mentioned a big story in the Washington Post that found Donald Trump’s personal giving has disappeared entirely in recent years after calling 420 plus charities with connection to trump. The post found one personal gift between 2008 and the spring of 2009. They call into question all of the promises he’s made about giving to charity. Will Trump release his tax returns and show what he’s given?
KELLYANNE CONWAY: Not until our accountants and lawyers say we should.
[…]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Any contributions to charity over the last several years from the foundation? The Post couldn’t find any and you wouldn’t respond.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: I’m told by those in charge of the Clinton Foundation —
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump Foundation.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: Excuse me, yes, George. He’s been incredibly generous with his time and money over the years. He started that foundation with just his money and the only contributor for a number of years.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But nothing over the last five years.
Hillary for America released a new series of television and radio ads this week. The first five videos focus on Donald Trump and the controversies surrounding him and the Trump Foundation donations. There are three radio ads that focus more on Hillary Clinton’s platform points and less on Trump. The final set of ads is a pair of television and radio ads in Spanish. Each focuses on Clinton’s dedication to Latino families. Review the ads below.
On Wednesday, Bill and Chelsea Clinton were on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. At a rally in Orlando, Florida, Bill spoke about a number of Hillary’s plans including creating new jobs, improving the economy, and passing immigration reform. He also spoke about something important to him, the Clinton Foundation. The foundation has come under fire recently for claims that donors were given special access to Hillary when she was Secretary of State. While there is not evidence to support his claim, Donald Trump’s Trump Foundation has been fined for an illegal donation to Florida state Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bill took the attacks on the Clinton Foundation personally saying that Trump “attacked my foundation. I think that’s because he knew they [the news media] were about to report that he used his foundation to give money to your attorney general.” A video from the rally is below.
In Pennsylvania, Chelsea attended two events. The first was an organizing event in Carlisle where she spoke about a number of Hillary’s key platform proposals including her plans to ensure women receive equal pay, improvement to the health care system, and introducing common sense gun control. Chelsea then traveled to State College where she spoke with supporters at the local Democratic National Committee office. Chelsea was there to help launch a local phone bank initiative, and she spoke about the importance of voting in November. “I hope you’ll keep having conversations about why it’s so important to register to vote,” she told the group. A video of Chelsea’s remarks in Carlisle are below.
Meanwhile, two fundraisers were held on behalf of Hillary for America. The first was in Miami, Florida where Bill Clinton and Hall of Fame Star Alonzo Mourning spoke with supporters at The Fillmore. Then, Melanne Verveer attended a fundraiser for American citizens living in Taipei, Taiwan.
In response to a new Washington Post report revealing that the Internal Revenue Service has fined Donald Trump for using funds from his charitable foundation to make a campaign donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Hillary for America Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri released the following statement:
“Donald Trump has been falsely attacking the charity run by President Clinton when it is Trump’s own Foundation that has been caught in an actual pay-to-play scandal.
While the Clinton Foundation has received the highest ratings from independent charitable watchdogs, Donald Trump’s use of foundation money to donate to the Florida Attorney General actually broke the law. Worst of all, it appears the payment may have been intended to stave off an investigation into the sham Trump University that has ripped off unsuspecting students.
Donald Trump has no standing whatsoever to question the Clinton Foundation, which works to make AIDS and malaria drugs more accessible, when it’s been proven he uses his own foundation to launder illegal campaign donations.”
Below is a key excerpt from the Washington Post bombshell:
Trump pays IRS a penalty for his foundation violating rules with gift to aid Florida attorney general
By David A. Fahrenthold
Donald Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year, an official at Trump’s company said, after it was revealed that Trump’s charitable foundation had violated tax laws by giving a political contribution to a campaign group connected to Florida’s attorney general.
The improper donation, a $25,000 gift from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, was made in 2013. At the time, Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case.
Hillary Clinton Speeches 