Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
More individuals and corporations of influence are distancing themselves from the Clinton Foundation, this time declining sponsorships and possibly appearances for the Clinton Global Initiative’s 11th Annual Meeting.
More bad news for the Clintons. With Hillary’s presidential campaign slipping in the polls against Sen. Bernie Sanders and facing a potential fresh challenge from Vice President Joe Biden, six giants of the corporate world are bailing out on the Clinton Global Initiative.
USA TODAY has confirmed that sponsors from 2014 that have backed out for this year include electronics company Samsung, oil giant ExxonMobil, global financial firms Deutsche Bank and HSBC, and accounting firm PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). Hewlett-Packard, which just announced major layoffs, will be an in-kind donor instead of a cash contributor, and the agri-chem firm Monsanto has cut back its donation. Dow’s name is missing from the donor list as well, but the chemical company’s exit is not confirmed.
High-profile corporations might not be the only key supporters backing away from association with the Clinton family’s charitable arm. In 2014, eight national leaders, kings, presidents and prime ministers, appeared on the program for CGI’s annual meeting, including the president of the United States and the prime minister of Japan. This year, only leaders from Colombia and Liberia are currently on the program…. [N]o Obama administration appointees as prominent are on the program.
It is no surprise companies are wary of associating themselves with such a politically damaged brand. In the key swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, a recent Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll found that 51%, 53%, and 54% of voters questioned Clinton’s honesty and trustworthiness, respectively.
While authorities should hold Clinton accountable for her conflicts of interest and unauthorized use of private email servers during her tenure in the State Department, her damage in the Court of Public Opinion was very much self-inflicted. Even MSNBC hosts have admitted that the Clinton campaign continues to make unforced errors, and her public persona is so guarded and calculated that it was described by some talking heads as “horrific.”
Questionable ethics and hypocrisy in the progressive movement have never stopped cronies and the liberal elite from supporting Clinton initiatives in the past. The fact that people are slowly backing away now might prove to be the canary in the coal mine for the Clinton 2016 campaign.
