Grandmother and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton praised Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, for its decision to ban the sale of Confederate flag merchandise.
"And I also commend Walmart for deciding to remove any product that uses it [the Confederate flag]," Clinton stated in scripted remarks delivered to a community meeting at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Mo.
However, in her six years of service as a member of the Walmart board of directors, from 1986 to 1992, Clinton remained silent on the propriety of selling the flag, despite advocating for numerous "personal causes," according to a 2007 report from the New York Times:
Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart’s only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business.
Clinton’s previous silence on the sale of Confederate flag merchandise was not the only instance of her reluctance to speak up for issues she now voices support for.
In 2008, ABC News reported that Clinton shied away from voicing dissent in board meetings about either Walmart’s controversial labor practices or the company’s aggressive posture towards labor unions during her time on the board. Clinton now claims to support the "fight for $15."
ABC reported that while battling Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination and under pressure to secure the endorsements of politically powerful labor unions, Clinton began to distance herself from the ubiquitous retailer.
"Now I know that Walmart's policies do not reflect the best way of doing business and the values that I think are important in America," ABC quoted Clinton saying at a 2007 campaign event in New Hampshire.
In addition to her new adversarial tone towards Walmart and in a move that underscored just how serious candidate Clinton was in trying to influence changes in Walmart’s corporate culture 16 years after she left its corporate board, ABC reported that
Her Senate campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from a Wal-Mart Political Action Committee, although ABCNews.com discovered another $20,000 in contributions from Wal-Mart executives and lobbyists. Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson said, ‘There is no basis to return" the money.
In light of yesterday afternoon’s comments by Clinton, it is unclear whether her 2016 presidential campaign or its affiliated Super PAC will seek a return of the refunded $5,000 contribution.