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Hillary Clinton Isn’t First Politician to Face Criticism Over Speaking Fees

Once politicians leave office, they often are asked to deliver speeches that bring them exorbitant fees, a practice that some find distasteful.

Throughout the 2016 election, for example, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken heat for her time on the paid-appearance circuit. Two months after she resigned as the Obama administration’s secretary of state in 2013, she embarked on a speaking career that brought her millions of dollars and lasted until soon before she declared her presidential bid in April 2015.

Gerald Ford is widely considered to be the first former president to go out on the circuit, but Ronald Reagan may have been the first to hear criticism of this pursuit. Shortly after his presidency ended, Reagan earned an estimated $2 million for two speeches he delivered in Japan, according to media reports at the time. (That $2 million would total about $3.9 million in 2016 dollars, according to the CPI inflation calendar.) He was berated for the multiday visit while the United States was engaged in a heated economic battle with the island nation.

Read entire article at Newsweek