Trump challenged to condemn money politics

By Paul Bremmer

Donald Trump has made it clear he is very wealthy and doesn’t need to rely on campaign contributions.

Yet the Republican presidential frontrunner appears to be embracing donations anyway.

On Friday, he attended an event in Norwood, Massachusetts, that the host billed as a fundraiser, with a sign out front reading: “Please have checks made payable to: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. or cash ready on entry. Thank you.”

Trump said most people got in for free, and he denied the event was a fundraiser.

But the issue has raised concerns, and while the real-estate mogul has continued to rail against lobbyists and big campaign donors, his words do not impress Jack Abramoff, the notable D.C. lobbyist-turned-reformer.

Abramoff pointed out Trump himself has donated money to many politicians in the past and, therefore, is unlikely to lead a campaign-finance revolution.

“Here’s a guy who’s already got a history, by his own admission, of bribing politicians and laying on the money to buy them,” Abramoff told WND. “So I’m not certain we can trust him to be the one to solve this problem. It’s a big problem, and he’s somebody who’s been involved and guilty of doing it.”

Abramoff himself was a powerful Washington lobbyist before a corruption investigation led to his imprisonment in 2006. When he got out of prison in 2010, he turned over a new leaf and began exposing the culture of corruption in the nation’s capital, authoring “Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption from America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist.”

Now Abramoff is waiting for Trump to admit, as Abramoff did, that he was wrong to play the big-money-in-politics game.

“If he’s newly reborn, if he has a new approach, new attitude on this, he hasn’t said it to anybody,” Abramoff said. “I mean, let him come out and say that when he, in the past, gave money to politicians, he was bribing them. Let him say that. And that he now realizes it’s wrong. If he says that, then great! Then there is hope that he would be able to be trusted and to lead on it.”

But instead, Trump has bragged about giving money to politicians and getting favors in return. At the Aug. 6 Republican presidential debate, he said he gives to “everybody.”

“”When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them, and they are there for me,” Trump said.

On the Aug. 23 edition of CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Trump said he would welcome campaign donations but not from lobbyists who will expect something in return.

Trump has claimed as a politician he could not be bribed because of his vast personal wealth. But Abramoff disagrees.

“It’s not just money from donors that makes you bribable,” the former lobbyist argued. “It’s an attitude of giving largesse to people, which I don’t see any reason to believe he wouldn’t do [to] some of his old partners. We haven’t seen anything that indicates that there’s any change of heart by this guy. He doesn’t view the process of giving money politically as wrong.”

Legendary conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, on the other hand, does not worry Trump will allow himself to be bought by wealthy donors.

“I think Trump is responsive to the people who are his friends, but I don’t get the impression that he lets anybody else make up his mind or establish his positions,” said Schlafly, author of “Who Killed the American Family?” “I think he’s a very opinionated guy, and he wants to make America great, and I just don’t get the impression that he’s somebody that the donors could push over.”

Abramoff said he doubts many lobbyists are frustrated by Trump’s vast wealth and supposed imperviousness to lobbyist money. But he conceded Trump’s wealth could give him some measure of independence from lobbyists.

“In theory, I guess, he’s not taking money so he won’t do certain favors, but he’s also somebody completely capable of giving favor to some of his old business partners and people he was involved in business with and just sort of stonewalling any discussion of it,” Abramoff said.

When asked if she was worried Trump will reward his old business partners with favors should he become president, Schlafly replied, “That’s not high on my worry list.”

Schlafly, a WND columnist, admitted money in politics is a problem, but she believes Trump’s personal fortune will give him an independence from lobbyists that other politicians don’t enjoy.

“I think Trump has almost taken the issue of big money and what it can buy off the table,” she said. “There are just so many other things that are more important right now.”

Abramoff thinks Trump’s wealth will provide him some insulation from the usual turbulence of a candidate’s life.

“I think not having to ask people for money does sort of put him on a level where he, in essence, doesn’t have to play the normal political game or be held by certain standards,” Abramoff said.

The former lobbyist said a candidate who relies on donors couldn’t say some of the politically incorrect things Trump is saying, because the donors would think the candidate was crazy and stop giving. But Trump, who doesn’t have to rely on any outside money, doesn’t have to worry what donors may think. He can say whatever he wants, and Abramoff doesn’t see that as a good thing.

“That’s all good and entertaining for folks, but we’re talking about somebody who’s going to be in charge of our nuclear arsenal at a time when there are threats in the world,” Abramoff warned. “Is that prudent to have somebody who’s just saying whatever comes into his brain at the moment? I don’t think so. I mean, it’s a great reality TV show, but is it going to be good for the country ultimately?”

Schlafly agrees Trump is a free and independent spirit, but she sees that as a good thing because he has promised many things for which conservatives have been hoping for years.

“I think Trump is going to do what he wants to do,” Schlafly asserted. “I really don’t think he’s controlled by donors or public opinion and so forth. I think he has his own ideas, and maybe that’s not perfect. Of course, nobody’s perfect. … We need some changes, and I think the kinds of changes he’s demanding are very important.”

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