In a previously unreported exchange from 2008, Donald Trump threw his support behind then-Senator Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Democratic nomination, calling her “fantastic.”BuzzFeed News found a transcript of the exchange online and was able to obtain video of it after asking Media Matters, which has archived old Fox News shows.
In the January 2008 interview, Trump is asked by Fox News’ Neil Cavuto which presidential candidate he prefers. Trump said that he didn’t want to reveal who he was supporting because he wanted them to win.
Cavuto interjected, saying, “But you gave money when Hillary Clinton was running for Senate, right?”
“Well, I support Hillary,” said Trump. “I think she’s fantastic. I supported Rudy. I think Romney is doing a very good job. I mean, there’s — every one of them, they are very…”
Asked again about his preference later in the interview, Trump said, “I don’t want to say.”
Trump has a long and well-documented history of publicly praising Clinton in the years before he decided to run for president. When faced with his past praise, Trump has explained that he was speaking as a businessman who had to maintain a good relationship with politicians in both parties.
In an October 2007 interview on the Howard Stern Show uncovered by BuzzFeed News last week, Trump said he was pushing for Hillary Clinton to win the 2008 Democratic primary, calling her a good friend of his for whom he’d hosted fundraisers. In December of last year, BuzzFeed News found a 2008 blog post where Trump said Clinton would make a great president.
(via: Buzzfeed)
