2020 Democrats haunted over past donations from Trump
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
At least six Democrats eyeing the White House in 2020 took campaign contributions from Donald Trump before he was president – something that could be a potential political liability in a crowded, anti-Trump Democratic primary.
The past donations resurfaced Tuesday in a Politico story. Some of the Democrats who took Trump family money have already announced plans to run for president; others are actively considering it.
HILLARY CLINTON SAYS SHE'S NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Among the past donations reported by Politico:
Trump gave Kamala Harris, when she was attorney general of California, a total of $6,000 in separate donations in 2011 and 2013. His daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, gave Harris $2,000.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker received two contributions of $10,400 from Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in 2013.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand received a total of $5,850 from Trump between 2007 and 2010, and $2,000 from Ivanka Trump in 2014.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who says he considering a run, received $25,000 from Trump in his run for governor in 2009.
Trump gave former Vice President Joe Biden, who is mulling a campaign, $1,000 in 2001.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, the former senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who hasn’t ruled out another run, received seven donations from Trump between 1989 and 2003 totaling $5,500.
Some have taken steps to distance themselves from the money: in 2017, Gillibrand said she was donating $5,850 to an anti-sexual assault organization. Harris’ campaign said this year it later donated $6,000 to charity.
During the 2016 Republican primary, Trump’s opponents slammed him for his past donations to Democrats, including to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton. He defended them as necessary for a New York businessman.