Trump was supposed to be addressing the VFW in Missouri, but he invited Republican Senate Candidate Josh Hawley on stage and allowed him to speak in what was an illegal use of taxpayer money to pay for what turned into a campaign event.
Video:
Trump said, “Hopefully, your new senator to be Josh Hawley. We need Josh badly. Josh. Thank you. In fact, Josh, do me a favor, come up here just for a second. Just shake my hand. This guy is a special man. Come here, Josh, come here.”
Hawley said, “It’s an incredible honor to be here today. Thanks to all of you for your service and what you mean to this country. How about the leadership of President Donald Trump? What do you think? You know, when I think about president Trump, there’s one word that comes to mind. That word is courage. Do you agree? How many people over the years have said that they’ll do this, or they’ll do that, but there’s one guy who had the guts to actually fulfill his promises? The guts to move our embody to Jerusalem? The guts to actually stand up against our enemies overseas? The guts to put conservatives over the supreme court of the United States, and that’s Donald Trump. You know, the president always said we’re at a turning point moment as a country. It’s a critical time for our country. And he’s providing the leadership that this country needs as we lead the world into this new century. Now I tell you what, I think he needs reinforcements in Washington, D.C. Do you agree with that? So let’s do this. Let’s show our appreciation again for president Trump and the leadership that he is giving to this country. And let’s redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to standing together, working hard and making America great again.”
It is against the law for Trump to use presidential resources for campaign events
This topic came up during the 2016 election when Trump accused Obama of illegally using taxpayer money to campaign for Hillary Clinton (He didn’t.)
Presidents are supposed to reimburse for their travel on Air Force One for campaign events. It is illegal for presidents to use government resources, besides the Secret Service because they go with the president everywhere for campaign events.
The problem with what happened in Missouri is that the White House is claiming that Trump’s speech is a presidential event, not a campaign event, but as you can clearly see, Trump was campaigning with Hawley in Missouri.
What Trump did was illegal, and the taxpayers need to be paid back for his use of governmental resources for campaign activities.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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