Donald Trump missed a golden opportunity to take down Hillary Clinton over Haiti
Donald Trump was mocked for trying to address Haiti based on his experience "at Little Haiti the other day in Florida," but while his takedown didn't really get off the ground, he did manage to make his main point. "I want to tell you, they hate the Clintons, because what's happened in Haiti with the Clinton Foundation is a disgrace. And you know it, and they know it, and everybody knows it," Trump said.
It is a train of thought Trump has been following for a few weeks now. As The Washington Post writes:
Trump comes late to Haiti. The Clintons have had a special interest in the country ever since they honeymooned there in 1975. President Bill Clinton restored Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1994 after he was expelled in a coup. Clinton and former president George W. Bush agreed to head the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, created in 2010 after the devastating earthquake, to raise billions in aid. And Clinton became co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission.Trump is right that many Haitians now loathe the Clintons. There are as many conspiracy theories among Haitians about the Clintons as you would find at a Trump rally. Some resent their heavy-handed role in Haitian politics. Others believe they have somehow found a way to benefit financially or have only helped the wealthy elite. The rumor mill has been fueled by gaffes like Hillary Clinton's brother Tony Rodham joining the advisory board of VCS Mining, a Delaware-based company that has tried to raise money to mine for gold in Haiti. [The Washington Post]
In Clinton's defense, the people Trump spoke with in Little Haiti were primarily "GOP operatives, one of whom had been a supporter of a right-wing militarist junta in the 1990s," journalist Jonathan M. Katz tweeted. He added that Trump's host was "Georges Saati, a right-wing extremist who's been accused of funding paramilitaries in Haiti."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Katz added that while Clinton's rejoinder was weak, she scraped by unscathed. "That's because if you really wanted to nail her, you'd ask her about interfering in the 2011 election. You'd ask about why reconstruction was so explicitly meant to benefit American businesses and customers. You'd ask why after she promised to do aid differently after the quake the U.S. government and American aid groups did the same old thing," Katz explained. Read his entire breakdown here.
-
5 blacked out cartoons about the Epstein file redactionsCartoons Artists take on hidden identities, a censored presidential seal, and more
-
How Democrats are turning DOJ lemons into partisan lemonadeTODAY’S BIG QUESTION As the Trump administration continues to try — and fail — at indicting its political enemies, Democratic lawmakers have begun seizing the moment for themselves
-
ICE’s new targets post-Minnesota retreatIn the Spotlight Several cities are reportedly on ICE’s list for immigration crackdowns
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
