Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton went off on an environmental activist on Thursday, after being asked about the large sums of fossil fuel-linked cash she has received.
At a Clinton rally on the State University of New York at Purchase campus, Eva Resnick-Day, an activist with the environmental justice group Greenpeace, asked Clinton, “Will you act on your word to reject fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign?”
Clinton quickly lost her patience. Her smile promptly morphed into a scowl and she yelled at the environmental activist, “I do not have — I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies.”
“I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me,” Clinton shouted, pointing angrily at Resnick-Day.
This incident comes mere days after a top official in the Clinton campaign insisted Hillary would not debate fellow presidential candidate Bernie Sanders unless he
changes his “tone.”
Environmental justice group Greenpeace uploaded video of Clinton’s irate response to its YouTube channel.
Greenpeace has detailed
Clinton’s many connections to the fossil fuel industry, arguing her campaign and the Super PAC supporting her have received more than $4.5 million from those who work in it.
Although the activist from the environmental group asked if the former secretary of state will “reject fossil fuel money” overall, Clinton implied she has not received any, instead making a misleading distinction between the corporations themselves and individuals tied to them.
It is true that Clinton’s campaign has not gotten money
directly from fossil fuel corporations, or any other companies, as this would
violate election law. Rather, many of the people raising money for Clinton’s campaign
work for large oil and natural gas corporations.
“Nearly all of the lobbyists bundling contributions for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign have at one time or another worked for the fossil fuel industry,”
Mother Jones revealed in a July exposé.
She has received enormous help, Mother Jones reported, from “Democratic Party lobbyists who have worked against regulations to curb climate change, advocated for offshore drilling, or sought government approval for natural gas exports.”
Environmental news website Grist has also shown how Clinton
rakes in money from fossil fuel interests. The outlet notes that her campaign does not receive money directly from fossil fuel companies; rather, she “is getting a lot of money from fossil fuel executives and lobbyists acting as bundlers (fundraisers who collect donations) who represent fossil fuel companies.”