The Clinton presidential library pursued a brave move and released 22 photos to Politico that suggest Bill Clinton and Donald Trump’s friendship.
The pictures were taken by official White House photographers in June 2000 when then-President Clinton made a trip to Trump Tower in New York City for a political fundraiser and in September that same year during the US Open tournament also in the busy city. The photos were released following a Freedom of Information Act.
The images revealed remind the public of a widely circulated photo of the Clintons as distinguished guests at Trumps’ 2005 wedding where the couples were seen having happy time filled with laughter as they linked arms to capture the moment. Although this is the only photograph released with Hillary Clinton, Politico had requested 59 pictures that show the Democratic nominee at a fundraiser Donald Trump also attended in New York in August 1994. The request was denied due to the photos being considered part of “personal records.”
Fast forward 11 years later, reports of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump’s jabs at one another have been flowing through various media channels. According to an article published by ABC News earlier this month, Bill Clinton openly spoke about his views of Trump’s visit to Mexico for the first time. Clinton shed light on the inconsistency in Trump’s stance when one minute he travels to the country eager to have a private meeting and lunch with President Enrique Peña Nieto then the next give a speech that basically contradicts the high-profile and confidential interaction.
“You cannot be the leader of a country, go down and be nice to people and then come home and dump on them for your own political benefit”, ABC News reported.
It would appear that the intense presidential campaigning between Trump and Hillary Clinton has seen the evaporation of what seemed to be a beautiful friendship.
Trump vs. Hillary Clinton
There has been an ongoing verbal tug of war between the Republican nominee and Democratic Clinton. The two have been throwing personal attacks at each other throughout their respective campaigns. At a rally in Jackson, Mississippi, one of the many places in the US that has been experiencing high levels of police brutality against African-Americans, Trump memorably and shamelessly labeled Clinton as a “bigot” as he delivered his campaign to an ironically yet unsurprisingly majority white audience.
“Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future,” CNN reported.
Trump went on to say that Clinton “will do nothing for Hispanics and African-Americans.” These are words coming out of the same mouth that declared a wall should be built to keep Mexicans, who come to the US to be “rapists” and “drug dealers,” off United States soil.
Clinton also shared her views of her rival whom she accused of “taking a hate movement mainstream,” CNN reports. It is clear that both nominees think rather critically and lowly of each other; they have openly targeted each other in ruthless verbal exchanges. Besides the animosity, something else that separates the two nominees is the difference between the policies they aim to put forth. About tax policies, Clinton plans to increase taxes on high-income earners, creating a new tax bracket of 33 percent for incomes ranging between $190 150 to $413 350, for single filers and $231 450 to $413 350 for married ones, Inside Business International reports. Clinton’s proposed policy would reduce the national deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade while still funding various government programs.
Trump’s policy aims to take as little money away from US citizens’ incomes by significantly slashing taxes. He proposed a tax bracket of 25 percent for incomes of $150 001 and up for single filers and $300 001 and up for married ones, which is 14.6 percent less than the current bracket. Trump’s tax policies would cost the government $9.5 trillion over the next decade, which is exponentially higher than the projected 2016 deficit of $544 billion, Insider Business International reports.
Looking at the proposed tax policies alone, one can see the potential difference each candidate could potentially make to the country. Clinton’s policy will hold corporations accountable for the significant sums of profit they incur, making sure they contribute to the development of the country through taxing these numbers. Whereas Trump plans to let the uneven playing field capitalism has created, prevail, which will, in turn, see a perpetuation of the 1 percent where the rich will become richer and as a result the poor poorer. One can only hope that US citizens will consider the possible implications the candidate for whom they vote will have on the growth of the US economy and society.
Source: New York Daily News