Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has attacked the news media for pushing him to explain what he did with millions of dollars he claimed to have raised for veterans. At a fundraiser in January, Trump said he raised over $6 million for veterans’ groups. Last week, after The Washington Post said they could trace only about half of that, $3.1 million, going to vet groups, Trump donated $1 million of his own funds and started cutting more checks. On Tuesday, Trump outlined $5.6 million in donations to veterans’ organizations. The Associated Press reports the biggest batch of checks appears to have gone out last week, amid the media scrutiny over the funds. At a news conference Tuesday, Trump lambasted the media, calling CNN’s Jim Acosta “a real beauty” and ABC News reporter Tom Llamas a “sleaze.”
Donald Trump: “I’m not looking for credit, but what I don’t want is when I raise millions of dollars, have people say, like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC—he’s a sleaze, in my book—you’re a sleaze, because you know the facts, and you know the facts well.”
When a reporter asked if this is how Trump would conduct a White House news conference if elected president, Trump said, “Yes, it is.”