Hillary aide denies that Bill Clinton gave Trump advice
A top aide to Hilary Clinton on Thursday downplayed reports that Bill Clinton urged Donald Trump to play a larger role in Republican politics weeks before the businessman launched his White House bid.
{mosads}”Bill Clinton is so persuasive, he convinced Donald Trump to do this. Right,” chuckled Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton’s communications director, on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
“They exchanged some pleasantries. Mr. Trump noted that he was thinking about running for president and the president wished him well, but didn’t give him any advice,” Palmieri said.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Bill Clinton and Trump spoke by phone in May, as Trump was nearing a final decision on launching a White House bid. He entered the race in June.
The former president reportedly urged Trump to play a larger role in the GOP in a conversation that came weeks after Hillary Clinton formally launched her own presidential bid, as a Democrat.
Trump has since skyrocketed to the top of the GOP field in polling amid several controversies, while some Republicans have voiced frustration over his past associations with the Clintons.
“Donald Trump doesn’t strike me as someone who takes a big step like this because somebody else wants him to,” Palmieri said on MSNBC on Thursday.
She denied that either Clinton had encouraged Trump behind the scenes.
“I think, again, Donald Trump — I don’t know the man — but it seems to me he’s quite capable of making his own decisions and doesn’t strike me as someone who takes a big step because somebody else finds it to be in their interest. He seems to be pretty motivated by what’s in his interest.”
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