The scripted speech was the second military-themed event Trump has done in the past 24 hours as he and Clinton gear up for a “Commander-in-Chief Forum” to be hosted in NY on Wednesday night.
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“The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy”, the letter states.
Trump’s proposal to lift the sequester limits on military spending won praise from Republicans on Capitol Hill even as some acknowledged the reality that Democratic opposition might render it hard to achieve.
Additionally, Trump said he will rebuild the Navy, increasing the size of its fleet to 350 surface ships and submarines, which the document says is recommended by the bipartisan National Defense Panel.
It would be paid for by lifting congressionally mandated spending caps and launching a new round of budget reforms to save money.
The event at the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum in NY offered a prelude of how they will deal with questions on national security issues in their three upcoming presidential debates.
“Immediately after taking office, I will ask my generals to present to me a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy ISIS”, Trump said, using an alternate acronym for the ISIS group.
On that score, Clinton excelled and Trump bombed.
The motto guiding his security policy, Trump said, will be “peace through strength” and it will focus on “diplomacy, not destruction”.
Neither candidate had an advantage when it came to national security, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling in August.
“Hillary Clinton has taught us all how vulnerable we are to cyber hacking”, Trump said. Both are down from April, when 43 percent said Trump and 46 percent said Clinton.
“Folk, it’s time for a bit of a reality check, and let’s start with the big shock from this morning, the CNN poll that has gotten the most attention”, Todd said. A lot of voters will be asking themselves: Is she tough enough? That’s why they were asking me about Iraq 14 years ago. “Can he handle having his finger on the big red button?'” Yepsen said.
Those lines were as much a criticism of Republican former President George W Bush and his neo-conservative advisers as President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
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When asked what best prepares him to send men and women into harm’s way, Trump responded – with a straight face – by saying he has “called so numerous shots”.
