Hillary Clinton denied knowing anything about the more than $150,000 in campaign contributions she has received from Big Oil and gas companies at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
"You’ve also said that you support renewable energy in our country, but have taken over $150,000 dollars from the Big Oil and gas industries," one woman said. "These are industries which are in direct conflict with your interest in renewable energies, and I’m wondering if you’d be willing to take one step further away from the Republicans and take a stand against any more campaign contributions from them?"
Clinton said that she did not know about the contributions that the woman was referring to and that she is no friend of Big Oil.
"Yeah, I don’t even know what you’re referring to, but Big Oil knows I’m not their friend," Clinton said. "So I can’t imagine, they must’ve put it in the wrong envelope, because I’ve been very clear about that, and I want to take away all their subsidies, I’ve been public about that. We’re going to move those six billion dollars a year into clean, renewable energy."
Clinton made a similar claim at a campaign stop in Iowa in December, when one voter asked her if she had ever taken money from the fossil fuel industry.
"Well, I don’t know that I ever have [accepted money from the oil industry]," Clinton said. "I’m not exactly one of their favorites."
When the man asserted that Clinton had in fact taken money from the oil industry, she seemed similarly confused and told the man she would "check on" his claim.
"Have I?" Clinton said. "OK, well, I’ll check on that. They certainly haven’t made that much of an impression on me if I don’t even know it."
Though Clinton consistently has trouble recalling whether she has received contributions from Big Oil, some of her biggest campaign financiers are oil lobbyists.