Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday defended the work of his foundation, saying it has helped build a culture and a belief that “progress is possible.”
In a speech lasting just under an hour, the ex-president offered a rebuke of the controversy surrounding the Clinton Foundation. He said it had offered a “profound advance in the conduct and impact of modern philanthropy.”
{mosads}Speaking to a packed crowd at the annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York, Clinton took on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump without mentioning his name, calling on those listening to reject calls that they “choose walls over bridges.”
“These are not the right choices. The choices you have made here for 11 years are the right choices,” he said.
“Don’t be disheartened, don’t be deterred,” Clinton added. “Deal with the headlines but never forget the trend lines. The trend lines are better than the headlines.”
Clinton did not directly take on Trump’s charges that donors to the Clinton Foundation gave money to get access to the Clintons, including Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of State.
The Democratic presidential nominee faced pressure over the foundation last month as Trump and independent voices charged that there would be a conflict of interest in her being president while members of her immediate family continued to have relationships with the foundation.
The Foundation has said it will not take donations from foreign governments, corporations or citizens or from U.S. corporations and corporate foundations. The former president is also expected to step away from the foundation should his wife win the presidency in November.
Trump has been dealing with a separate controversy around his charitable foundation.
A report Tuesday in the Washington Post said he had used more than $250,000 from his foundation to settle lawsuits and fines. The New York Attorney General’s office is also looking into the allegations of misuse of the money.
Before Clinton took the stage to deliver his speech on Wednesday, a Trump aide ripped into his defense, saying Clinton, the so-called ‘explainer-in-chief’ “has a lot to answer for, corruption, lack of transparency, personal enrichment and [Democrat] criticism.”
“At the end of the day, the Clinton Foundation presents an unprecedented and unacceptable conflict of interest that would badly compromise a Hillary Clinton White House and that problem is only getting bigger by the day,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s rapid response director.”
Bill Clinton on Wednesday highlighted how the Clinton Global Initiative had helped communities deal with natural disasters, from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005 to the Ebola crisis.
In the next year, he said, the commitments will help with the Zika virus and the refugee crisis in Syria.
“Turns out this model works,” he said.
He urged the crowd to “keep this spirit alive” and “cultivate a culture of possibility.”
“CGI worked out better than I ever dreamed, thanks to you,” he said wrapping up his remarks.