Donald Trump freaked out on Thursday hours after it was reported that he has to pay $2 million in damages for using his so-called charity as a personal slush fund.
In a statement, Trump – surprise, surprise – painted himself as the victim, saying, “I am the only person I know, perhaps the only person in history, who can give major money to charity ($19M), charge no expense, and be attacked by the political hacks in New York State. No wonder why we are all leaving!”
Trump added (falsely), “We gave 100% of the funds to great charities.”
He also whined about the fact that his phony charity is under legal scrutiny while the Clinton Foundation – an organization that has received A-ratings from multiple watchdog groups – is not under investigation.
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The president posted the full statement to Twitter:
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/EktztHfLk6
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2019
Trump has already admitted he misused charity funds
Despite Trump’s tantrum on Thursday, the fact that he’s now paying $2 million in damages to various non-profit groups is an acknowledgment that he misused his foundation’s money.
As The New York Times reported, “The president admitted he had used funds raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his campaign and pay business debts.”
Not only did Trump use the charity money to pay off debt and promote his presidential bid, but as PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley noted on Thursday, he bought a $10,000 painting of himself at an auction because nobody else wanted it.
In other words, as Easley added, “No one wanted a giant painting of Donald Trump, so he broke the law and used money belonging to his foundation to buy the painting and soothe his ego.”
Sadly, using a charity for an ego boost is completely on-brand for Donald Trump, and that came back to haunt him on Thursday.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
