In 1994, Hillary Clinton mentioned: “We might use somebody like Donald Trump as president. Somebody who couldn’t be purchased or modified.”
In November 2024, quickly after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gained the presidential election, a quote attributed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton circulated on-line.
In line with one X post (archived), Clinton mentioned in 1994: “We might use somebody like Donald Trump as President; somebody who couldn’t be purchased or modified.”
(X person @imUrB00gieman)
Nonetheless, the previous Democratic presidential nominee didn’t say the phrases quoted above in 1994, nor at another time. Variations of it have been on the web since a minimum of 2016, when Snopes reported on a satire web site falsely claiming that Clinton mentioned she needed to see individuals like Trump run for workplace. Nonetheless, no dependable information sources nor any of Clinton’s speeches have included the quote. As such, we discover that this declare originated as satire.
The Clinton Presidential Library archives contained no proof that Clinton had ever made such a press release about Trump whereas she was first girl in 1994.
Looking for variations of the quote on Google additionally revealed that no dependable information sources had confirmed that she mentioned such a factor. It had popped up on varied social media websites for a number of years, however with no hyperlinks to proof of her having mentioned it.
In 2016, Snopes first reported the same pretend quote Clinton allegedly mentioned in 2013: “I Would Prefer to See Folks Like Donald Trump Run For Workplace; They’re Sincere And Cannot Be Purchased.” The assertion first emerged on The Rightists, a now-defunct web site that posted a combination of pretend and actual information.
Per earlier Snopes reporting, The Rightists used an unverified speech that Clinton reportedly made at a non-public Goldman Sachs occasion in 2013 and amended quotes from it. Per NPR, Clinton refused to confirm whether or not the 2013 speech at Goldman Sachs was actual. The speech, which was unfold by WikiLeaks, acknowledged (emphasis, ours):
MALE ATTENDEE: My query is, as entrepreneurs, we threat so much. And Mike Bloomberg had 30 billion different causes than to take workplace. Do we want a wholesale change in Washington that has extra to do with individuals that do not want the job than have the job?
SECRETARY CLINTON: That is a extremely fascinating query. You realize, I want to see extra profitable enterprise individuals run for workplace. I actually want to see that as a result of I do suppose, you understand, you do not have to have 30 billion, however you’ve got a sure stage of freedom. And there is that memorable phrase from a former member of the Senate: You could be possibly rented however by no means purchased.
And I feel it is necessary to have individuals with these experiences. And particularly now, as a result of a lot of you on this room are on the chopping fringe of expertise or well being care or another phase of the financial system, so you’re individuals who look over the horizon. And coming into public life and bringing that perspective in addition to the success and the insulation that success provides you might actually assist in a variety of our political conditions proper now.
Within the article, The Rightists amended a number of quotes from the above speech to make it appear as if Clinton was referring to Trump (emphasis, ours):
After which she simply needed to go on. “In actual fact, whenever you say businessmen and ladies, I am unable to assist however consider a selected one which I’d simply like to see operating for the presidency in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later,” Clinton added. “I do not know what it’s precisely about him, I am unable to fairly put my finger on it, however my intuition is nearly by no means mistaken. And it is telling me that Donald Trump can be very profitable if he have been to enterprise into politics sooner or later.”
Requested to elaborate on her assertion, the previous Secretary of State argued that she thinks that businessmen “cannot be purchased” and that they are “very sincere.” “And I feel that goes particularly for Donald Trump, whose profitable tasks and enterprise ventures have made him synonymous with massive enterprise and, extra importantly, creating hundreds of jobs. I additionally suppose he understands the philanthropic and charitable aspect of issues fairly effectively, which is a vital ability for any politician,” she praised her present counter-candidate.
In sum, the above emphasised quotes didn’t seem within the 2013 unverified Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs speech, nor did they seem throughout Clinton’s time period as first girl in 1994. Snopes beforehand debunked variations of this assertion in 2016 and in July 2024.
