OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Former technology executive Carly Fiorina, the only woman known to be contemplating a Republican presidential bid, on Thursday challenged Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton to explain millions of dollars from foreign governments donated to her family’s foundation.
“She tweets about women’s rights in this country and takes money from governments that deny women the most basic human rights,” Fiorina told the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC. She added: “Hillary likes hashtags. But she doesn’t know what leadership means.”
The Clinton Foundation, founded by former President Bill Clinton more than a decade ago, has battled HIV and AIDS in Africa, educated millions of children and fed the poor and hungry around the globe. Hillary Clinton is a member of its board of directors and her daughter, Chelsea, is the board’s vice chair.
The foundation has defended its financial support and addressed how it might function if Hillary Clinton were to run for president, something taken as a given by most. It would ensure that its policies and practices are “appropriate, just as we did when she served as secretary of state,” the foundation says.
Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO, also challenged Clinton to name a single accomplishment from her time as secretary of state.
“Like Mrs. Clinton, I too have traveled the globe” Fiorina said, repeating an applause line she has delivered at other conservative gatherings. “Unlike Mrs. Clinton, I know that flying is an activity, not an accomplishment.”
Fiorina, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in California in 2010, was among several featured speakers on the first day of this year’s CPAC. The annual conference features a parade of more than a dozen potential Republican presidential contenders hoping to win over conservative activists.
Clinton was a regular punching bag at the conference. She is the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination should she run and would be the nation’s first female president.
“If Hillary Clinton had to face me on a debate stage, at the very least she would have a hitch in her swing,” Fiorina said.
“Carly Fiorina only wishes she had Hillary’s long list of accomplishments,” said Adrienne Elrod, spokesman for a pro-Clinton group, Correct The Record, citing Clinton’s accomplishments as “protecting children and families to putting policies in place aimed at helping every American reach their full potential, regardless of their economic circumstances.”
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