MANCHESTER, N.H. — Businessman and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says of his $200,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation that he contributes to a lot of places that may not use his donations “fairly or wisely.”
During a campaign stop at Manchester Community College Trump told The Daily Caller as he walked out of the event in the midst of a massive press gaggle, “I give donations to hundreds of different groups and hundreds of different foundations. I give it everywhere. It’s supposed to be spent wisely. In some cases, foundations do not spend it fairly or wisely.”
Trump spent years donating to Democrats and the Clinton Foundation. He defended those political donations to Democrats by telling Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity earlier in the month, “So, what am I going to do, contribute to Republicans? Am I going to contribute to, I mean, one thing I’m not stupid. Am I going to contribute to a Republican for my whole life when they get, they run against some Democrat. And the most they can get is one percent of the vote.”
He added that he has a good relationship with New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer.
“I mean, I’ve contributed to Schumer, I contribute — I’ve known Schumer for many, many years. And I have a good relationship with him. The fact is, that I think it is time maybe that we all do get along,” he told Hannity.
Trump initially entered the gymnasium of about 350 to the 1973 Bachman-Turner tune “Takin’ Care of Business” and immediately began to rip apart the conservative nonprofit group Club for Growth.
Trump retold a story to the attendees about Club for Growth staffers who visited the mogul in his offices in New York and praised him for his political advocacy.
“This Club for Growth. Did anybody hear of this Club for Growth? Sounds nice. Club for Growth. I get a call a while ago and the set comes up to Trump Tower. He comes to us. He’s talking about Club for Growth. By the way, what do I care? I have growth. We all have growth,” Trump said.
Things turned sour when Trump said he received a letter from CFG asking him for a million dollar donation.
“Then we get a letter from him. I think around June 2. I think we get a couple of letters from him and he said, ‘Hi, can we have a million dollars.’ He asked for a million dollars. I said, ‘Does he think we’re stupid?'”
Trump explained to the audience that CFG publicly turned against him when he turned down the organization.
The New York Republican also hit immigration and labor issues, noting that too many American factories are moving their operations to other countries.
“When I say we’re going to build plants here instead of in Mexico, which by the way is eating our lunch—eating our lunch is what they’re doing. They’re killing us at the border and they’re killing us economically. You know Ford wants to build a $2.5 billion car plant in Mexico?” he said.
“Well how does that help us? Are they going to hire us? They’re going to hire other people and the other people are gonna go out and make cars and then they’re gonna drive them over the border. And I had an idea the other day. Why don’t we just let the illegals drive the cars over? They’re coming over anyway.”
Trump also went after President Obama for exchanging five detained Guantanamo terrorists for American Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was being held hostage by the Taliban last year.
“We get traitor Sergeant Bergdahl and they get five killer leaders that they desperately wanted who are now back on the battle fields fighting to kill everybody including us.” He later added, “In the old days, you killed the traitors.”
Secretary of State John Kerry also did not escape Trump’s fire. Trump made fun of Kerry’s handling of Iran during the nuclear negotiations.
“Our chief negotiator is 72 or 73. Our chief negotiator is in a bicycle race and he breaks his leg. I promise you one thing. I will not be in a bicycle race. I will be on the phone doubling up and tripling up sanctions.”
Trump later told reporters that he believes that he relates to the middle class better than the wealthy, saying, “The middle class for this country, not only the vets, but the middle class has been decimated. I love the middle class. Believe me, I love the middle class more than I like the wealthy. My biggest problem is the wealthy people. They don’t like me as much and I understand why.”
The crowd was loud and supportive of Trump’s declarations, although three students there told The Daily Caller they were Democrats from Connecticut. The three young men arrived with protest signs criticizing Trump’s position on immigration and stood amongst supporters as Trump took questions from the audience.
One attendee was thrown out of the gymnasium for unknown reasons by security before Trump arrived.