Adviser defends Obama's $400K speaking fee at Wall Street conference
An adviser to President Obama is defending a $400,000 speaking fee he will receive for an upcoming speech at a Wall Street conference hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald.
"As we announced months ago, President Obama will deliver speeches from time to time. Some of those speeches will be paid, some will be unpaid and regardless of venue or sponsor, President Obama will be true to his values, his vision and his record," Eric Schultz said in a statement, according to The Huffington Post.
Schultz said that Obama accepted an invitation to speak at the health care conference in September and that even though he broke records as a candidate in 2008 with the money he raised from Wall Street, he implemented "the toughest reforms on Wall Street" since President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency.
He said that the former president will continue to deliver speeches, but that he plans to spend most of his time writing his book.
Obama held his first public event Monday post-White House at the University of Chicago in which he had a conversation with students about the importance of public service.