Trump previously donated thousands to Kamala Harris
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Donald Trump has previously donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of his potential presidential opponent Kamala Harris.
The former president donated $5,000 to her campaign on Sept 24 2011 and another $1,000 on Feb 20 2013, when she was running to be California’s attorney general, according to financial records that have been virally shared on social media.
At the time, Ms Harris’ Democratic opponent, Loretta Sanchez, questioned whether Trump was attempting to influence the state’s probe of Trump University.
Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, gave $2,000 to the current vice president’s campaign in 2014.
The now-defunct Trump University, which promised to teach its students the “secrets of success” in the real estate industry, was facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged false advertising and high-pressure sales techniques to lure would-be students to free workshops before selling them access to expensive seminars.
While Ms Harris was California’s attorney general, her office took action against Trump University.
A spokesman for Joe Biden’s campaign said that Harris did not solicit donations from Trump or his family and that they had no impact on how her office handled the allegations against the institute.
Trump gave $25,000 to Pamela Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, at the time she was also considering a lawsuit against Trump University. Her office did not join the lawsuit but has insisted that the decision was not influenced by the gift.
In 2016, Trump University agreed to pay out $25 million to settle the lawsuits.
Before he ran for the presidency in 2016 on the Republican ticket, Trump was no stranger to donating to Democratic candidates.
As a businessman in New York, he donated to both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, his main two electoral rivals in recent years. He gave the Biden campaign $1,000 in 2001, according to financial records.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were also pictured laughing with Trump and Melania, his wife, at their 2005 wedding reception.
But after 2010, records show that Trump began almost exclusively donating to Republican causes, which also coincided with his rise in conservative politics.
The donations to Mrs Harris’ campaign were the only odd ones out.
In a 2013 affidavit, Trump said a political figure close to Eric Schneiderman, the former New York attorney general, had “asked my daughter Ivanka if she would arrange for me to make a contribution to a fundraising event sponsored by Schneiderman for newly elected California Attorney General Kamala D Harris”.
Trump’s campaign in the past has also argued that the donations prove he is not a racist.
