Donald Trump has acknowledged former President Clinton spoke with him weeks before his campaign launch, but claims Clinton is unhappy about the businessman’s 2016 GOP presidential bid.
“He’s not happy that I’m running, I can tell you right now, because he thinks I’m the worst nightmare for Hillary,” Trump told reporters after Thursday’s Republican debate, according to multiple reports.
{mosads}Trump was confirming a Washington Post report from Wednesday that the pair spoke in May, just after Hillary Clinton announced her Democratic campaign and before Trump jumped into the GOP race.
A top aide to Hillary Clinton on Thursday denied that Bill Clinton gave Trump advice during their call, while some Republicans have voiced resentment over Trump’s previous associations with the Clintons.
Carly Fiorina, former HP CEO and the only female in the GOP field for the White House, criticized Trump for his connections to the Clintons, offering a tongue-in-cheek remark about not getting her own phone call.
“I didn’t get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race. Did any of you get a phone call from Bill Clinton?” she asked during the first GOP debate Thursday for those not in the top 10.
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t given money to the foundation or donated to his wife’s Senate campaign,” Fiorina added.
Trump’s presvious donations to Clinton and her family’s charity came into focus during Thursday’s second debate when he was pressed to defend them. He said that he donated to everyone as a businessman.