FACT CHECK: Did Hillary Clinton Once Say She Wanted Trump To Run For Office?
An image shared on Facebook claimed that back in 2013, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “I would like to see people like Donald Trump run for office; they’re honest and can’t be bought.”
Verdict: False
While Clinton may have said in 2013 that she’d like to see more business people run for office, there is no evidence she said this about President Donald Trump.
Fact Check:
A picture has been circulating recently of Clinton posing with Trump. Taken in 2005 at Trump’s third wedding, the image includes the alleged quote, along with the quip, “She got her wish.”
The meme appears to be inspired by a speech that WikiLeaks released, allegedly showing Clinton speaking with Goldman Sachs in 2013.
In the transcript, which Clinton’s team has not confirmed as accurate, she is quoted as saying, “I would like to see more successful business people run for office. I really would like to see that because I do think, you know, you don’t have to have 30 billion, but you have a certain level of freedom. And there’s that memorable phrase from a former member of the Senate: You can be maybe rented but never bought.”
While Clinton may have expressed interest in seeing business people run for political office, she did not reference Trump. The quote could not be found in Clinton’s remarks anywhere else, on or off the campaign trail.
Trump announced his candidacy for president in June 2015 and was inaugurated as the 45th president in January 2017.
