Clinton, when asked about her vote to authorize the war, said: “I have said that my voting to give President Bush that authority was, from my perspective, my mistake”, she said.
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Trump responded that the generals under President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “have not been successful”.
Clinton’s remarks followed a Wednesday night national security forum where the presidential candidates made back-to-back appearances. “I am asking to be judged on the totality of my record”.
Clinton and Republican Donald Trump spoke back-to-back but not face-to-face at the forum, hosted by NBC.
Questioned back-to-back but not face-to-face, the presidential foes were to address an audience of veterans and active-duty troops – and a national TV audience – from the decommissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid, which is now a floating museum in NY.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the Commander in Chief Forum hosted by NBC, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in NY.
Donald Trump bashed USA military leadership during a national-security forum on NBC Wednesday night, saying it has been “reduced to rubble” under President Barack Obama.
“I think I would have a very, very good relationship with Putin”. “If I win, I don’t want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my plan is”. He’s zeroed in on her controversial email practices at the State Department, calling her private email server “reckless”.
But Clinton defended certain emails, including those that contained information about the country’s covert drone program, as not revealing classified information. According to notes released from Clinton’s interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she said she relied on others with knowledge about handling classified files.
Clinton said a president must have an “absolute rock steadiness mixed with strength to be able to make the hard decisions”.
Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump both have shifted their approaches in the final stretch of the campaign.
Clinton’s campaign released a statement from Newton stating that “given the challenges we face around the world today, and the rhetoric we are hearing from some at home, I feel I have a moral imperative to come forth and endorse Secretary Hillary Clinton for president”.
Clinton could also be vulnerable to Americans’ worries about terrorism – particularly the Islamic State’s designs on the West – and criticism that President Barack Obama hasn’t done enough to combat extremism emanating from the Middle East.
And Trump, pressed to defend his inconsistent policy views and lack of conventional training for the presidency, was repeatedly evasive.
She again said her use of a private e-mail system was a mistake.
Donald Trump laid out plans Wednesday to jettison current defense-spending caps and embark on a military buildup that includes big outlays for ships, planes and troops, as well as bolstering the nation’s missile-defense systems.
Trump’s Union League address also included his plans to eliminate deep spending cuts, known as the “sequester”, enacted when Congress failed to reach a budget compromise in 2011.
His campaign unveiled endorsements from 88 retired military leaders this week, and Trump has campaigned several times with Michael Flynn, a retired lieutenant general who is one of his close advisers.
“President Clinton has made a decision to stand up against Trump and the cynics driving a political agenda”, an aide said.
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Even before promising a huge boost in military spending, Trump’s plans to cut taxes, expand infrastructure spending and leave untouched entitlement programs such as Social Security already threaten to add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit.
