Posted on 04/23/2016 6:35:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
One of Trump’s most enduring and arguably most endearing campaign lines has been his promise to treat American vets better. When Trump dropped out of a Fox News debate in January he held a separate event at which he raised money for veterans. But three months later, Trump’s campaign adviser for veterans, Al Baldasaro, doesn’t seem too concerned about it. He told the Daily Beast, “I’m not concerned about it, because I know [Trump is] an honorable, honest guy… you guys just want to say, ‘gotcha.’”
To be fair, Baldasaro is not a Trump staffer. The real problem is that anyone who has attempted to track down the $6 million raised has been unable to find more than about half that amount that was actually delivered to veterans’ groups. From the Daily Beast:
Since the fundraiser, numerous media organizations have investigated whether the charities have received the $6 million. The investigations span the ideological spectrum: the progressive MSNBC and the conservative Weekly Standard have been unable to find all the funds; as have The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The Daily Beast.
The money simply hasn’t been found.
In early March, CNN was able to track down $2.9 million, citing the Trump campaign. In early April, The Wall Street Journal traced $2.4 million of the promised funds.
That CNN total of $2.9 million was based on a list of 29 veterans organizations shown to the network by a Trump spokesperson, so that seems to be the best case scenario. However, when CNN checked with those organizations one of them said they had not seen any money yet and the majority refused to comment:
When contacted by CNN, only nine groups confirmed they had received payments totaling $800,000, one group said no payment had yet been made, and the rest either refused to disclose contributions or did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
A Trump spokesperson told CNN contributions would continue as money came in from donors, but why wait for money to come in?
Trump made a big point of raising this money for veterans. That was an honorable thing to do. He could do vets another solid (and maybe gain a little of his declining favorability back) by stepping up and advancing the money from his own bank account if necessary. Doing so would be a win for his campaign and a win for veterans.
NcLaurel:
Yes, “how much pledged has been collected, i.e. the checks actually mailed to ‘Trump’ or have folks reneged on their telephone commitments? I’m not a “Trumpian” but will give a benefit of doubt here. At least some folks have honored their pledges based upon the $2.9 mil paid out so far.
It's comforting to know the only ammo you TDS types have is lies.
As one of the MANY folks who gave a few dollars to the Veteran's benefit, I have to say: Where are you coming from? If the Trump organization had given the money out quickly and recklessly, you'd be complaining about carelessness and fraud!
I don't want the money just to be a windfall, not necessarily being put to the best use. I want it given out methodically and in a timely matter, to maximize the benefit it achieves. I want some of that money left in the fund in case any emergencies arrive where a Veteran has a desperate immediate need for cash.
If this is an indication about how Trump will demand that US finances be handled, THREE CHEERS!!
Perhaps, now that you've made us aware of how vigilant the Trump organization is with OUR donations (probably not yours), it could be an ongoing endeavor, where those of us so inclined could occasionally add a few more dollars to the fund.
Noooo. Watch the other hand. It’s yuuuuuge!
They can’t accept it because it’s a direct challenge to one of their core principles, ‘whenever conservatism runs, it wins.”
First conservatives alienated Democrats. Then, it increasingly alienated Independents. Now, the natural trajectory continues: it’s alienating many Republicans.
You’d think that after eight years of Obama, the country would be hot for a principled conservative president. They’re clearly not.
We have to have clarity. Denial ain’t a river in Egypt.
Most of what came up was about Trump's failure to deliver on his promise, but there was THIS.
I guess that's what you were referring to as you so artfully changed the subject, or do you have anything substantial to contribute?
Soon someone will post some photo shopped pictures of Ted Cruz.
Believe me, Excuse me, and Very.
Oh noes...another constipated conservative is heard from.
Given that Cruz has run on a platform of religiosity, why didn’t he tithe?
and the rest either refused to disclose contributions or did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
A Trump spokesperson told CNN contributions would continue as money came in from donors, but why wait for money to come in?
CNN thinks the money should be distributed, BEFORE it comes in.
A Trump spokesperson told CNN contributions would continue as money came in from donors, but why wait for money to come in?
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I know the TDS has complete control of you both at this time, but TRY to think about this. How, under the current IRS regulations, do you payout from you foundation entity before you receive the income? Does your foundation take out a loan?
And the pattern repeats: Trump says something, people Run in Circles Scream And Shout (RICSAS), some people actually think about it, and decide Trump was correct!
That’s because “conservatism” has come to mean open-borders globalism, and that is being rejected by huge numbers of Americans.
Candidates have run as “conservative” for decades, and then gone to DC and acted indistinguishable from the liberals. It’s like the boy who cried wolf. Eventually people stop believing you.
The same Republican party that ran Dole, McCain and Romney as conservatives can’t stop screeching about how liberal Trump is. No wonder people are no longer taking their marching orders from them.
>>>>>>The real problem is that anyone who has attempted to track down the $6 million raised has been unable to find more than about half that amount that was actually delivered to veterans’ groups. <<<<<<<
meanwhile...... Hillary...... ????
smh
You can’t give away money you don’t have. The money is pledged so it means they haven’t received it yet, it’s only been 3 months. Look at the Clinton money laundering foundation: only 6% of the $140 million taken in after a year went to charity, but ho hum let’s ignore that because it’s Hitlery and she is untouchable.
Sounds just like Oprah.
With such a large value for the Trump Brand, Trump must, of course, charge for his "brand". A 50% rate is hardly unusual!
Trump will get the money out. He’s given away more money than Ted has made. Trump signs 22k paychecks on the FRONT.
No kidding!
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