Trump Announces Donations To Veteran Groups After Media Report On The Delayed Contributions

AP: Many Of Trump’s Donations To Veterans’ Groups Were Sent After Wash. Post Reported On The Delay. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump held a news conference on May 31 to announce that veterans groups had received donations from Trump’s fundraising efforts. The announcement revealed that 41 groups received $5.6 million in total, but the Associated Press noted that several groups that received money “said the checks were dated on or about May 24 -- the [same] date as Trump’s interview with [The Washington] Post -- and shipped out overnight.” The report added that while some groups received checks earlier, “the biggest batch appeared to have gone out around May 24, with several of the groups saying they had no contact with the Trump organization before that.” From the AP’s May 31 report:

More than a dozen big checks flowed out of New York last week, bound for veterans' charities from Donald Trump. On Tuesday, he announced he had made good on his promise of last January to give the groups millions of dollars from a highly publicized fundraiser.

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The largest donation, a $1 million check dated May 24 and drawn from Donald J. Trump's personal account, was addressed to a small Tuckahoe, New York, group that provides scholarships to the children of fallen Marines.

Trump had been interviewed that same day by The Washington Post, which for weeks had been raising questions about where the promised money was, urging him to disclose recipients of the millions raised during a splashy telethon-style fundraiser he held in Iowa in January in place of a Fox debate he was boycotting.

[...]

The Associated Press spoke or left messages with each of the organizations Trump named. Of the 30 groups that responded by Tuesday, about half said they had received checks from Trump just last week.

Several said the checks were dated on or about May 24 — the date as Trump's interview with the Post — and shipped out overnight.

[...]

The public presentations trickled off within days, though some of the groups contacted by the AP did report receiving checks in February, March and April.

But the biggest batch appeared to have gone out around May 24, with several of the groups saying they had no contact with the Trump organization before that. [Associated Press, 5/31/16]

Fox Hosts Dismiss Questions Over Trump's Delayed Criticism

Eric Bolling: “I Was Disturbed By” Media “Giving [Trump] A Hard Time” On When He Raised And Gave The Money. Fox host Eric Bolling criticized the media for giving Trump “a hard time” about the details of his donations to veterans, saying he “was disturbed” that media figures were “giving [Trump] a hard time of the timing of when he raised it, when he doled it out, and when he ‘vetted’ those groups.” Bolling added, “The guy raised $5.6 million, give him a break.” From the May 31 edition of Fox News’ The Five:

ERIC BOLLING: Bottom line, the guy raised $5.6 million, and the vets received $5.6 million. I was a little disturbed by my colleagues, our colleagues out there, giving him a hard time of the timing of when he raised it, when he doled it out, and when he “vetted” these groups. A lot of the times you can't just send people money. You have to make sure that they are IRS-approved charities as well. So --

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: There’s a vetting process.

BOLLING: There's a process, and god forbid he sent money to the wrong charity or it ended up being some stupid ISIS group. They would destroy Trump for doing it that way. The guy raised $5.6 million, give him a break. [Fox News, The Five, 5/31/16]

Greg Gutfeld: “The End Does Justify The Means; He Did Raise Money.” When asked how the donations were handled by Trump and his team, co-host Greg Gutfeld replied that despite the fundraiser beginning “as a maneuver to get out of a debate … the end does justify the means; he did raise money.” From the May 31 edition of The Five:

GREG GUTFELD: I think this was a very, very positive development. Because I've been saying from the beginning, what makes a candidate better is criticism, to hold them accountable. This began as a maneuver to get out of a debate. Vets were the escape car for -- the getaway car to get out of the debate. But having said that, the end does justify the means; he did raise money. So even though he used this as a method to get away, he still followed through. [Fox News, The Five, 5/31/16]

Kimberly Guilfoyle: “There’s Something To Be Said For” Trump Saying He Was Going To Do Something, Then Showing He Did It. The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle praised Trump’s donation announcement, stating, “if you say you are going to do something, you say you are going to raise the money, and then you do and you show you have, there's something to be said for that.” Guilfoyle said it was important because Trump has said he’d do other things like “build a wall and have Mexico pay for it”:

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: When you look at this situation, when you are making campaign promises and you are saying that you are going to raise money for the vets, that you want to put the military first, that you are going to make the military stronger than ever, that you’re going to put veterans first and take care of the VA and make sure they are at the forefront of importance, if you say you are going to do something, you say you are going to raise the money, and then you do and you show that you have, there's something to be said for that because he said other things like, I'm going to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. [Fox News, The Five, 5/31/16]

Sean Hannity To Trump: Does The Media “Think You Need The Money? Do They Think You’re Going To Steal It?” Sean Hannity opened his show claiming that Trump was “fighting back against liberal media attacks about how much money that he ] has raised and donated to veterans’ charity groups.” Later, during an interview with Trump, Hannity mocked the media questions, asking, “What do they think you need the money? Do they think you’re going to steal it?” Hannity added “You were going through a process of vetting these groups which, by the way, is the responsible things to do, right? From the May 31 edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

SEAN HANNITY: Tonight, Donald Trump is fighting back against liberal media attacks about how much money that he has raised and donated to veterans’ charity groups.

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I watched this, and I'm thinking, what do they think you need the money? Do they think you're going to steal it? You were going through a process, though, of vetting these groups, which, by the way, is the responsible thing to do, right? [Fox News, Hannity, 5/31/16]

Bill O’Reilly: “There Was No Data … That Said He Didn’t Give The Money, It Was Basically A Supposition Fabricated By Anti-Trump People In The Press.” Fox host Bill O’Reilly defended Trump from criticism about the donations, claiming that the accusations about the delay were “fabricated by anti-Trump people in the press,” and arguing that “the lead of this story is that the press insinuated something that isn’t true, and today Trump corrected the record.” From the May 31 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor:

COL. DAVID HUNT: He created his own controversy.

BILL O’REILLY: But why would you say that when there was no data, Colonel, that said he didn’t give the money. It was basically a supposition fabricated by anti-Trump people in the press. There was no data that came out and said Trump is stiffing the vets, there was no accounting that said that, so why would you be so hard on Trump?

HUNT: Because he did this in January to skip a Fox debate, and made the point -- he’s the one that brought this up. I’m going to give 6 million bucks. He didn’t quietly did it, he wanted to make public of it. He wanted to use it politically, that’s fine. I’m glad the vets, believe me, I think it’s wonderful that they got the money. But you’ve got to sometimes -- you’re running for president of the United States, you’ve got to have to account for some stuff. He wouldn’t do it, the press kept pushing, and he did it today, and I’m glad it happened.

O’REILLY: But I think the press kept pushing with insinuation, rather than just an objective we’d like to know.

[...]

O’REILLY: I think the lead of this story is that the press insinuated something that isn’t true, and today Trump corrected the record. [Fox News, The O’Reilly Factor, 5/31/16]

Gretchen Carlson: “These Charities Now Have 6 Million Bucks That They Would Not Have Had.” Fox host Gretchen Carlson “play[ed] devil’s advocate” to note that a lot of people support Trump’s donations because “charities now have $6 million bucks that they would not have.” Carlson also promoted the claim that Trump needed to vet the organizations before he could donate:

CHARLES GASPARINO: Listen, Donald Trump has done a lot of good things. He's raised $6 million for vets. That's a very good thing. But us making sure he raised that money for vets, like he said he did, is a very good thing on our part.

[...]

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Elizabeth, let's play devil's advocate here. When he did raise that money for the veterans, a lot of people thought that they weren't props that day, that it actually was a great thing because all these charities now have 6 million bucks that they would not have had.

[...]

GASPARINO: I just, listen, my view is I know a lot of people that raise money. You could pull $5 million out of your pocket if you are as rich as Donald Trump. I just don't understand --

CARLSON: The one things he said Charlie, the one thing he did explain today was that you have to vet veterans organizations just like you do and that you had to wait for government paperwork and such. You don't buy that? [Fox News, The Real Story, 5/31/16]