During his victory speech Republican nominee-in-waiting Donald Trump called for GOP unity while accusing Hillary Clinton of “turning the State Department into her private hedge fund,” to benefit the Clinton Foundation.
Speaking from his campaign headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Trump accused the Clinton family of being politicians who have used the political system for personal gain.
He accused Hillary Clinton of using her status as Secretary of State to earn personal funds for personal gain as the Clinton Foundation accepted money from Saudi Arabia and Russia.
“It is a sad day in America when foreign governments have greater influence than the country's people," said Trump who said he would give a more detailed speech about the Clintons' and their foundation next week. "I had to give back to my country that has been so good to me, and to my family."
The connection between the former Secretary of State and the funding stream of the Clinton Foundation has received heavy criticism from others. Most recently the other Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he saw it as a conflict of interest in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
Trump said recent polls showed he was beating Hillary Clinton and he expected his lead to continue to grow and “grow substantially.”
He said he would welcome the Bernie Sanders supporters with open arms “who have been left out by the rigged system.” And added he would include Americans in his vision for a better country.
“Just remember this, I am going to be your champion, I am going to be America’s champion. This election isn’t about Republican or Democrats, it is about the people who run this country: the special interest or the people, the American people,” Trump said, according to WMAR, Baltimore.
GOP leaders united to denounce Trump on Tuesday for his attacks on a federal judge with House Speaker Paul Ryan calling the remarks the “textbook definition of a racist comment.”
“I regret those comments he made. Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,” Ryan said. “I think that should be absolutely disavowed. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
“But do I believe Hillary Clinton is the answer? No, I do not,” Ryan said, according to The Associated Press.
Trump asserted that his comments were being “misconstrued” but refused to back down or apologize for saying repeatedly that the US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not preside fairly over a case involving Trump University because of his Mexican heritage. Curiel is American born to Mexican parents.
“I do not feel that one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial, but, based on the rulings that I have received in the Trump University civil case, I feel justified in questioning whether I am receiving a fair trial,” Trump said on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
The class action civil case involves students who accused Donald Trump and Trump University of violations of the RICO statue, essential a scheme to defraud them of millions of dollars through misrepresentation.
Speaker Ryan said he is still endorsing the nominee-in-waiting.