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Masters In Politics: Ben Carson Refuses to Say Whether Obama is a Better Leader than Putin, Clinton Foundation COO Craig Minassian Does a Deep Dive on Their Policies and Procedures

September 9, 2016 By WHC Insider

Ben Carson at the first Republican Primary Debate in Cleveland, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Ben Carson at the first Republican Primary Debate in Cleveland, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

On the latest episode of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast, hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Clinton Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer Craig Minassian and former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. Carson attempted to clarify Trump’s comments on Vladimir Putin, and Minassian discussed controversial donations to the foundation.

Carson, who has lent his services to the Trump campaign as an informal advisor, believes Trump has no need to apologize for his comments regarding Russian Leader Vladimir Putin. “He’s saying that Putin is looked upon in his country with a great deal more respect than Obama is in this country.” When asked whether Putin was a better leader than President Obama, Carson ducked. “He tends to be more aggressive, more assertive, and more of a leader, and therefore gains more respect in his country.”

Hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin questioned Craig Minassian on the controversies surrounding the Clinton Foundation’s donors and programs. “Countries were donating before [Clinton] was Secretary of State, and most of those donations came pre-2004”. When asked about Saudi Arabia’s contributions to the foundation, Minassian explained, “Saudi Arabia never donated while she was Secretary of State. They did contribute again after she was out of office but the majority of countries did not.” He also noted to the fact if Saudi Arabia wrote a check today to the foundation that they would be unable to do so. Minassian is a longtime Clinton advisor going back to the Clinton White House years.

You can check out the full interview here.

Filed Under: Masters in Politics Tagged With: Ben Carson, Clinton Foundation, Craig Minassian, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Masters in Politics

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Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

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