Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:54 pm
Donald Trump claimed to raise over $6 million at the fundraiser he held for veterans on the night that he skipped a Fox debate in Iowa, but months after the funds were raised veterans groups have only received a fraction of the money.
According to Fox News:
More than two months after Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump claimed to have raised $6 million for veterans’ charities at a fundraiser held on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, most of the organizations targeted to receive the money have gotten less than half of that amount.
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The Wall Street Journal, citing a survey of the 22 groups listed by Trump’s campaign as prospective recipients for the money, reported that 19 organizations had obtained a total of $2.4 million from Trump’s foundation or associates.
Of the three other charities, one declined to disclose how much it had received, another said it needed to submit more paperwork before receiving any money, and the third didn’t respond to questions by the Journal.
As PoliticusUSA first reported in January 2016, the first clue that something wasn’t right with the Trump vets fundraiser was that although Trump claimed that 100% of the money raised was going directly to veterans groups, but the money was actually going into Trump’s foundation. At the “fundraiser” itself, Trump revealed that most of the money raised had been donated by himself a few of his rich friends.
The fundraiser was a publicity stunt, which would be disingenuous, but a little bit less sleazy if the vets groups got the money that they were promised. The veterans groups have not gotten all of their money. It speaks volumes about the character of Donald Trump that he would exploit our nation’s veterans and then drag his feet on donating the money that he promised to give.
Trump has been vague and avoided giving specifics about his deferments from serving in Vietnam, but the record suggests that Trump was able to avoid the draft because his family was rich. Donald Trump avoided the draft, and he is thanking veterans who bravely did what he never had the courage to do by holding out on money that was raised in their names.
Our veterans deserve better than to be exploited by someone who didn’t serve for political gain. This story demonstrates that is no such thing as low that Donald Trump won’t sink to.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
