Donald Trump Can’t Spell Sidney Blumenthal’s Name — But Uses Him as Bogeyman

Image by Getty Images
Donald Trump needs your money, and to get it he’s demonizing Hillary Clinton’s confidant Sidney Blumenthal.
In a recent email soliciting donations, the presumptive Republican nominee called on supporters to donate to the campaign so he can “indict Hillary Clinton and find her guilty on all charges.”

On what will Trump going to spend these $5, $10, $20, or $50 contributions he is asking for? He’ll indict Clinton for being a “world class liar.”
He has the list of all Clinton’s allegedly indictable actions: “There were many, many scandals. TravelGate, Whitewater. The personal destruction of Monica Lewinsky. The Rose Law Firm scandal. And, of course, anything involving Sydney Blumenthal”
For Trump, it would seem, Clinton’s close Jewish adviser and friend Blumenthal, whose first name was misspelled in Trump’s mailer, is the source of all evil.
Trump did not provide his supporters with an explanation on how “anything involving” Blumenthal is worthy of a criminal indictment, though throwing out his name is red meat for many Clinton detractors.
The former White House aide, once described by the Wall Street Journal as filling a variety of roles “from political Svengali to opposition hit man” for Bill and Hillary Clinton, has been an eager defender of the Democratic royal couple as well as a beneficiary of their powerful status.
During Bill Clinton’s presidency, and especially at the time of his impeachment hearings, Blumenthal did the job many in the president’s close circle were reluctant to do: rallying the troops, standing up for Clinton, whispering to journalists, and slinging mud at the rivals.
After leaving the White House, Blumenthal kept in close contact with the Clintons and for a while was on the Clinton Foundation’s payroll.
He re-emerged as a player after the public airing of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Then it turned out that the former adviser still saw a role for himself in providing his two-cents to the secretary of state.
Blumenthal sent hundreds of emails – offering ideas on how to deal with the Middle East and Israel, pushing articles written by his son Max, pitching his business ideas, and, just in general, acting as if he really is a Clinton adviser, which he was not, at the time.
No wonder the Republicans seized on his involvement, making him a main pillar of the Clinton Benghazi hearings.
And while his oversized involvement may bring to question the access an outside adviser with undisclosed personal and business ties has gotten to America’s top diplomat, there is little in the information revealed thus far that would point to any grounds for legal action.
Clinton critics have pointed to the possibility that Blumenthal’s emails relating to Libya had contained classified information. This will be resolved once the FBI completes its investigation into the issue.
Or, when Trump gets elected president and indicts Clinton for “anything involving” Blumenthal.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.