CNN reporter Chris Frates unflatteringly compared Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to Republican Donald Trump Wednesday night due to their similar great wealth, highly-paid speeches and foreign interests.
"He's been in positions in 515 organizations, so his business interests are really worldwide," Frates said. "That could raise possible conflicts of interest if were he to become president. It could be fodder for attacks like Hillary Clinton's faced, for instance. Her family's foundation has connections to foreign governments."
Frates also said Trump had a "knack" for giving paid speeches like the Clintons, who have drawn controversy in the past for their six-figure speaking fees.
"Since May of last year, he made more than $1.7 million in speaking fees," Frates said. "His biggest payday? $450,000. That puts him in the similar pay bracket with Bill Clinton, who could make $500,000 a speech, and Hillary Clinton, who commands north of $300,000 ... It opens up Trump to those same kinds of attacks the Clintons face, that they're very wealthy, they don't relate to average Americans, and they just can't understand the average American struggle."
A new poll from Quinnipiac showed mixed results for both candidates:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is behind or on the wrong side of a too-close-to-call result in matchups with three leading Republican contenders, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today.
Perhaps the biggest loser, however, is Donald Trump, who has negative favorability ratings of almost 2-1 in each state, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on key states in the presidential election.
In several matchups in Iowa and Colorado, another Democratic contender, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, runs as well as, or better than Clinton against Rubio, Bush and Walker. Vice President Joseph Biden does not do as well.
Clinton gets markedly negative favorability ratings in each state, 35 - 56 percent in Colorado, 33 - 56 percent in Iowa and 41 - 50 percent in Virginia.
The worst favorability ratings for any Democrat or Republican in the presidential field belong to Trump: 31 - 58 percent in Colorado, 32 - 57 percent in Iowa and 32 - 61 percent in Virginia.