“I’m the only one in the world that can raise nearly $6 million for the veterans, have uniform applause by the veterans’ groups and end up getting criticized by the press”, Trump said.
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His tirade, in which he called one reporter “a sleaze” and sarcastically described another as a “real beauty”, overshadowed what otherwise should have been an upbeat event for the presumptive Republican nominee. Of course, by denying the media access to his philanthropic affairs, Trump is also denying the same courtesy to the American public, including the veterans for whom he has presumably been raising this money.
Trump said he didn’t “want the credit” for his fundraising, “but I shouldn’t be lambasted” – that despite Trump repeatedly touting the donations himself on the campaign trail since the January fundraiser, which was televised in what some at the time dubbed a PR stunt. While protesters blocked the entrance to the Hyatt Regency hotel, Trump was forced to hop a fence off Highway 101 and enter through the back of the hotel to make his speech. The press and veterans were right to ask questions, he said.
“The press should be ashamed of themselves”, he told reporters gathered before him. “There were some individuals who he’d spoken to, who were going to write large checks, [who] for whatever reason…didn’t do it”, said Lewandowski in a telephone interview with the Washington Post.
“Donald Trump misunderstands – or, more likely, simply opposes – the role a free press plays in a democratic society”, Burr said.
It was supposed to be a day for Donald Trump to salute the nation’s veterans, and highlight the $5.6 million he’s raised for their causes.
“Trump will have broken the GOP record by millions after the remaining states vote on June 7th”, the professor said in an email.
“All of the money has been paid out”, Trump said. “I’ve never received such bad publicity for doing a good job”.
It is safe to assume that after all the flip-flopping Trump did concerning the actual amount of the funds raised and its distribution, if media had not questioned him about the cash, few veterans groups would’ve seen a dime.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump targeted the press for while speaking at a news conference.
Trump, who has refused calls to moderate his tone and temperament, also said he has no plans to change his tone with the press if he’s elected to the White House.
When Trump made a decision to ditch a Republican debate hosted by rival Fox News host Megyn Kelly in January, the billionaire real estate mogul took the time to host a fundraiser for veterans’ charities.
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The Reporter’s Michael Wolff asked Trump about Brexit, the shorthand term referring to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, but the candidate had no idea what that was. The campaign also said it had taken months to carefully vet each of the groups receiving money.
