After Intense Scrutiny, Trump Finally Gives Veterans The Money He Promised
After Intense Scrutiny, Trump Finally Gives Veterans The Money He Promised
by Aaron Rupar at Think Progress
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/25/3781704/trump-shamed-into-finally-giving-to-veterans/
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In January, Donald Trump claimed a stunt fundraising event he hosted raised $6 million for veterans. He said he personally contributed $1 million of his self-proclaimed $8.7 billion fortune toward that total.
But a Wall Street Journal report published roughly three months after the fundraiser found the promised beneficiaries had apparently received just a fraction of the promised money. In recent days, reporters started pressing the Trump campaign for more details. When specifics werent forthcoming, a Washington Post reporter used Twitter to investigate whether any veterans groups had posted about receiving the money Trump purportedly raised. They found nothing.
Perhaps realizing he was being caught not delivering on his promise, Trump apparently tried to make up for lost time. The Post reports that on Monday, Trump called the home of James K. Kallstrom, chairman of the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, and informed him he would be giving $1 million to his organization. It remains unclear whether any other veterans organization has received a donation stemming from Trump's fundraiser since the Journal's report was published, though the Post reports that the founder of Boston's annual Wounded Vet Bike Run received a call from the Trump campaign on Tuesday, which suggests more donations could be forthcoming.
Trump's excuse for the months-long delay? "You have a lot of vetting to do," he told reporters on Tuesday, according to the Post. But that rationale is drawn into question by the fact the Donald J. Trump Foundation had previously contributed to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.
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