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Published January 02, 2017
A leading Latino Republican political strategist is calling on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to return the more than $100,000 her non-profit foundation received from GOP contender Donald Trump.
The GOP strategist, Alfonso Aguilar, who is executive director of American Principles in Action’s Latino Partnership, says that if Clinton truly objects to inflammatory comments that Trump made about Mexicans when he announced his presidential campaign – and which he has repeated and defended since then – she should reject the money to demonstrate it.
“If she is so appalled by her friend Donald Trump’s comments, she should give back the $100,000-plus she received from the Trump Foundation,” Aguilar said in a statement to Fox News Latino. “Today I call on her to do so.”
Asked whether it was considering returning the money that Trump made through his foundation, Clinton’s foundation, a non-profit international philanthropy, indicated it was not planning to do so.
The foundation website lists Trump among those who have donated more than $100,000. It is unclear when the Trump Foundation made the donation.
The Clinton Foundation’s response, sent in an email to Fox News Latino from Craig Minassian, its chief communications officer, said: "We're grateful to our more than 300,000 donors from across the political spectrum whose support has allowed us to efficiently and effectively fight HIV/AIDS and childhood obesity, increase opportunity for girls and women, lift people out of poverty, combat climate change and has improved the lives of millions of people all over the world.”
Trump has come under fire by Hispanic groups after the Mexico comments.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you,” he said during a speech when he launched his campaign. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
NBC and Univision promptly decided to drop plans to show the beauty pageants that Trump partly owns. NBC also dropped “The Apprentice.” And other sporting and business giants also have severed their ties with Trump.
Clinton said in a CNN interview that she found Trump’s comments disappointing.
“I’m very disappointed in those comments and I feel very bad, and very disappointed with him and with the Republican party for not responding immediately and saying, ‘Enough! Stop It!,’” she said.
Trump has pushed back by criticizing Clinton for how she handled official emails during her time as Secretary of State, and suggested that their acceptance of his donation to the foundation was a form of currying favor with him.
Critics, however, say it should be Clinton pushing back harder on Trump.
“Hillary and other Democrats are taking advantage of Trump’s comments,” Aguilar said. “But Hillary’s criticism of Donald Trump was very tame. She could have said something more forceful than that she was disappointed [by Trump’s comments], but she didn’t, and it’s because they’re buddies. She went to his wedding, he contributed to her campaign for the Senate, and to her foundation.”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/latino-gop-leader-challenges-clinton-to-return-100k-trump-donated-to-her-foundation