Trump, alluding to something of small size during a speech.
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“He couldn’t give definitive answers, he droned on and on”, the Clinton aide said of Trump’s performance in the national security forum aired on NBC.
The appearances mark an intense, two-day focus on national security by Trump, who has offered tough rhetoric on America’s challenges overseas but few details.
The United States already spends more than $600 billion a year on the military.
“What I did learn is that our leadership, Barack Obama, did not follow … what our experts said to do”, Trump said Wednesday night during the forum.
“I’ve always said, “Shouldn’t be there!”
She added: “They view him as a danger and a risk”.
Trump has pushed back on that characterization. “I think I am in the best possible position to understand that and prevent it”.
The candidates spoke back-to-back at the forum Wednesday night, each fielding 30 minutes of questions. The forum could serve as a warm-up to their highly anticipated first presidential debate, scheduled for September 26 in NY.
Some veterans and families of military members killed in action protested outside Trump Tower in NY on Wednesday.
Those cuts, known as the “sequester” and valued at $1.2 trillion through 2023, affected numerous government’s programmes, in particular the Pentagon budget. Republicans and Democrats voted for the automatic, across-the board cuts that affected both military and domestic programs. He will also advocate a substantial increase in military spending, a topic he regularly mentions on the campaign trail.
His position on the sequester has been even more murky.
Despite making support for the military a signature issue in his campaign, Mr Trump has at various times drawn criticism from military members.
Speaking at a news conference in Laos on Thursday, Obama says he continues to believe Trump isn’t qualified to be president and that “every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed”.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday rolled out a list of endorsements from retired generals and admirals.
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“There are people (now) that know that we could do more in our military for sure, and I know we could do far more on the ideological front and we could do far more on the financial front”, Flynn told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
