Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sat down with TODAY Show host Matt Lauer during NBC’s presidential candidate forum to talk politics and national security, but neither Clinton nor her staff appreciated Lauer’s lackluster performance during Donald Trump’s portion, reports The Daily Beast.
As a result, Clinton’s campaign is using Lauer’s “pro-Trump interview” to shed light on just how unfit the GOP presidential candidate is to run for president – and they’re doing so all while raising money in the process.
Here’s Where Hillary Clinton Stands In The Polls Just 2 Months Before Election Day
The Clinton campaign blasted out a fundraising email that read, “Not only did the moderator, Matt Lauer, fail to fact-check Trump—he then kept the conversation moving.” The email continues, “There’s worst part is, there’s nothing new about this happening. We all know that Trump lies a lot. And we all know the many outlets in the press apparently lack the wherewithal to call [Trump] out. At this point, we should understand that we just can’t sit around and wait for fact checkers in the media to keep Trump honest. We have to step up and do it our selves.”
The email concludes with a nice, red, call-to-action button that reads, “Donate $1.”
WANT MORE FROM ESSENCE? Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news
Wow: In an email titled "Matt Lauer", Clinton's campaign is now fundraising off the host's performance last night. pic.twitter.com/DlrhMAPAcw
— Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) September 8, 2016
While Lauer was lambasted for failing to challenge Trump on his support of the Iraq war, the GOP candidate’s campaign is standing behind Wednesday night’s events. On Thursday, Clinton responded to Trump’s performance during the forum.
From CNN:
“We have never been threatened by a single candidate running for president as we have been in this election,” she said at a news conference Thursday, arguing that Trump was treating the campaign as his own “celebrity reality TV program.”
Trump, not surprisingly, hit back.
“She tried to make up for her horrible performance last night, it was a horrible performance, so she went on the tarmac and told more lies,” Trump said, blasting a news conference Clinton held on the tarmac of a New York airport.