Refusing to respond to GOP presumptive nominee real estate tycoon Donald Trump, Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted May 9 that she would not respond in-kind to Trump’s attacks. “I’m going to let him [Trump] run his campaign however he chooses,” said Hillary campaigning in Northern Virginia, refusing to get dragged into the name-calling. Less than a month later, Hillary called Trump a “fraud” for taking suckers’ cash in the ongoing case against Trump University. Hillary insisted, without knowing the facts, that the real estate mogul scammed innocent students trying to get a leg up in the real estate business. Those familiar with the case know that Trump, himself, had little to do with Trump U other than using his name to market specialized real estate classes. Calling Trump a “fraud” was the same strategy taken by 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Hillary had such disdain toward Trump she invited him to her daughter Chelsea’s wedding July 31, 2010. “Trump U was a fraudulent scheme where Donald Trump enriched himself at the expense of hard-working people,” said Hillary, trying to turn the tables on Trump after a week of bad publicity from the State Department Inspector General’s critical report about Hillary’s emails. Watching her lead against Trump in head-to-head national polls shrink, Hillary followed her chief campaign strategist John D. Podesta’s advice to go negative. Raised during the debates by former GOP candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), Trump U’s problems were fully discussed, including the fact that the original plaintiff Tarla Markaeff removed herself because of documented reports praising the real estate seminars. Seizing on Rubio’s attacks, Hillary hope to damage Trump’s credibility.
Hillary contends that Trump lacks the qualifications to be president, holding herself up as the most qualified candidate to ever run for president. Ripping her Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) before the all-important June 7 California primary, Hillary insists Bernie lacked the foreign policy experience for the Oval Office. Yet Bernie constantly rips Hillary’s poor decision making before and during her stint as secretary of State. Reminding voters that Hillary backed former President George W. Bush’s Iraq War and, as secretary of state, backed toppling Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi and, more recently, supports toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Trump points out that Hillary’s vast foreign policy experience supported the Saudi-Turkey-U.S. proxy war responsible for over 250,000 deaths, displacing millions more to neighboring counties and Europe.
Calling Trump “a really dangerous person,” Sanders echoed Hillary’s attack that the real estate mogul isn’t fit for president. Hillary’s new line of attack contradicts her promise to not go negative, much like Rubio before he self-destructed in the March 15 Florida primary. Hillary didn’t like Trump dredging up her husband’s sordid history of allegedly assaulting women. Hillary once called allegations about Monica Lewinsky part of “a vast right wing conspiracy” against Bill. Recent reports of Bill’s latest mistress, 56-year-old socialite Julie Tauber “Energizer” McMahon, promises to rock Hillary’s campaign as things heat. Trump won’t shy away from reminding voters that Hillary’s marriage to Bill is a sham, something to keep out the White House. Going after Trump U Hillary shows her growing frustration not knowing how to respond to Trump’s attacks against her husband.
Calling Trump U a scam, Hillary hopes to paint Trump, like Rubio and Romney, as a huckster trying to dupe the American public. Bernie’s recent attacks mirror the same themes against Trump, painting him as a phony showman. “I think Trump is an incredibly irresponsible and dangerous person,” said Sanders referring to his statement against Mexicans and Muslims. “A man who is primarily a showman and an opportunist and an egomaniac,” said Sanders. “A man who has already damaged this country with his attacks on Mexicans and Muslims and women and veterans and African Americans and so forth. Very dangerous man,” said Sanders, helping Hillary attack Trump’s credibility. Hillary and Bernie’s attacks mirror those of Republicans, like former Florida Gov. Jebb Bush, who hit Trump with everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, until he ended his campaign Feb. 20 after the South Carolina primary.
Ripping into Trump, Hillary and Bernie find more common ground but whose tactics could easily boomerang. More than Bernie, Clinton finds herself in hot water after following Rubio and Romney’s playbook. “This is more evidence that Donald Trump himself is a fraud,” said Hillary regarding Trump’s role in Trump U. Now that Hillary’s gloves have come off, Trump’s bound to start chipping away at Hillary’s track record and credibility. When Trump exposes that the Clinton Foundation gave Bill’s alleged lover McMahon $2 million, it’s bound to raise eyebrows. Taking over $100 million from the Gulf Cooperation Council states and over $10 million from the Saudis, it’s no accident that Hillary backs the Saudi-funded proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Taking oodles cash from Wall Street or the Gulf States, Hillary’s got a lot of explaining to do about her domestic and foreign policy.
