Donald Trump Says He Can Buy Politicians, None of
His Rivals Disagree
By Lee Fang
August 07, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "The
Intercept" -
Donald Trump bragged Thursday night that he
could buy politicians — even the ones sharing the stage with him at
a Republican presidential debate.Trump was
asked about something he said in a
previous interview: “When you give, they do whatever the hell
you want them to do.”
“You’d better believe it,” Trump said.
“If I ask them, if I need them, you know, most of the people on this
stage I’ve given to, just so you understand, a lot of money.”
The only complaints came from two candidates who
yelled that they had received no Trump money. As Trump continued to
talk, he was interrupted by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., complaining
that Trump instead gave campaign contributions to Rubio’s Democratic
opponent.
“I hope you will give to me,” said Gov. John
Kasich of Ohio.
“Sounds good. Sounds good to me, governor,” said
Trump.
Without missing a beat, the real estate tycoon
continued: “I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they
call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them,
two years later, three years later, I call them, and they are there
for me.” He added, “And that’s a broken system.”
Repeatedly asked what he got in return
for his donations, Trump said: “With Hillary Clinton, I said be at
my wedding and she came to my wedding. You know why? She didn’t have
a choice because I gave. I gave to a foundation that, frankly, that
foundation is supposed to do good.”
Though it surely wasn’t his intention, Trump was
illustrating the key problem with the current campaign finance
system. Campaign contributions are legally considered bribes only
when there is an explicit quid-pro-quo. But as Trump explained,
giving money to politicians bought him access and relationships,
which he could leverage down the road in the form of favors. Such
conflicts of interest are inherent in privately-funded election
systems.
No one on stage disputed Trump’s depiction of
the American political system. In fact, it was taken as a given.
Earlier in the debate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had
stated that Trump “buys and sells politicians of all stripes.” He
wasn’t so much complaining that big donors like Trump can buy
and sell politicians as grumbling that Trump should only
purchase Republicans. (Trump, indicating toward Paul, responded:
“Well, I’ve given him plenty of money.”)
Trump has indeed made a considerable number of
political donations,
as recorded by OpenSecrets.org. But those records don’t show a
contribution to Paul.
At another point, Trump said that the U.S.
healthcare system is badly-designed because “the insurance companies
… have total control of the politicians” with which they’re “making
a fortune.”
Other candidates also referenced the corrupting
influence of money in politics. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
stated that “the problem is we have a Wall Street-to-Washington
access of power that has controlled the political climate.” He
continued: “The donor class feeds the political class who does the
dance that the donor class wants. And the result is federal
government keeps getting bigger.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that there are many
“career politicians in both parties who get in bed with the
lobbyists and special interests.”
Last weekend, GOP contenders Cruz, Rubio, Walker,
Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina attended a private meeting of elite
campaign donors at a retreat in Southern California organized by
Koch Industries chief executive Charles Koch. At the time Trump
tweeted: “I wish good luck to all of the Republican candidates
that traveled to California to beg for money etc. from the Koch
Brothers. Puppets?”