DC Fundraiser for Foulkes Hosted by Former Ambassador Criticized for Antisemitic Comments

DC Fundraiser for Foulkes Hosted by Former Ambassador Criticized for Antisemitic Comments

A Washington, D.C. fundraiser for Helena Foulkes' Rhode Island gubernatorial run is being hosted by a former Ambassador who was criticized for antisemitic comments, 

Former Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley is hosting the $ 2,000-a-ticket fundraiser scheduled for June 11.

Her 2022 appointment by Joe Biden to serve as the Ambassador to Brazil was almost derailed when it was uncovered that Bagley repeatedly made multiple antisemitic comments.

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The Foulkes fundraiser that Bagley is hosting also features the likes of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was Foulkes’ late mother’s roommate in college.

And, another “special guest” is Foulkes’ uncle, former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd. Foulkes, for more than a decade, served on the board of her uncle’s Dodd Center, located at the University of Connecticut.

A series of reports by GoLocal focused on the close ties between Senator Dodd and The Dodd Center with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. The Sackler family and the company are considered to have been major drivers of the opioid crisis.

 

Other sponsors for the Bagley event are former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, failed congressional candidate Sarah Morgenthau, and offshore wind executive Jeff Grybowski.

The cover email to the fundraising invite states, "While I know you’re not a Rhode Island voter, I hope you’ll agree: governors have real power, and we need strong governors to get our country back on the right track. Helena is the kind of leader many of us are looking for: a pro-business/innovation agenda with strong Democratic values. Moreover, I am friends with Helena and her husband Bill and know they will be dedicated to putting Rhode Island's interests above their own."

Bagley's late husband, Smith Bagley, was heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune.

 

 

In 2022, The Jewish Journal wrote:

The nominee, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, came under fire in June after The Washington Free Beacon unearthed comments from a 1998 Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training interview in which Bagley said, “There is always the influence of the Jewish lobby because there is major money involved. But, I don’t remember any major issues coming out on that, besides the usual ‘make Jerusalem the capital of Israel,’ which is always an issue in the campaign.”

Bagley was responding to a question about the “Israeli influence” on the Clinton administration; at the time Bagley was the administration’s Portugal ambassador. Bagley then claimed in the interview that Democrats pander to “the Jewish constituency” and say “stupid things” like moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. She added that the “Jewish factor” in political campaigns is “money.”

GoLocal reached out to Foulkes to ask about the appropriateness of having Bagley associated with her campaign. She did not respond.

Questions to Bagley about her antisemitic comments were not responded to at time of publication. 

 

Jewish Groups Urged Biden to Withdraw Nominee

 

Groups, including Americans Against Antisemitism [SEE VIDEO ABOVE], urged Biden to withdraw Bagley, but she was too ingrained in the Democratic Party leadership.

Bagley is a massive fundraiser and donor to the party. She has given millions to Democratic candidates and campaign committees and to presidential inaugural committees.

She had previously served as ambassador to Portugal under President Bill Clinton. Bagley, who has a longstanding relationship with Biden, was a critical fundraiser for his presidential bid in 2019, and she hosted the Bidens for Thanksgiving on Nantucket.

This story was first published 5/29/25 2:30 AM