“I’m asking to be judged on the totality of my record”, said Clinton, who grew visibly irritated at times with the repeated focus on her past actions.
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But moderator Matt Lauer doggedly pressed her about her handling of emails from a private server as President Barack Obama’s first-term secretary of state.
Said Clinton: “They know they can count on me to be the kind of commander in chief who will protect our country and our troops, and they know they cannot count on Donald Trump”.
Trump did little to counter the criticism that he lacks detailed policy proposals, particularly regarding the Islamic State.
He said he would ask Pentagon leaders to present a plan within 30 days to destroy Islamic State if he wins the Nov 8 election.
At the start of his turn on the stage, Mr Trump, who earlier on Wednesday vowed to spend billions of extra dollars to build up the U.S. military, struggled when asked to explain what experience he had had in his own life to qualify him to lead America on the world stage.
Also on Wednesday, Clinton’s campaign announced that 95 retired generals and admirals have endorsed her presidential bid, one day after a group of 88 retired generals and admirals signed an open letter backing Trump to reverse the “hollowing out” of the USA military. “Military is a very special thing”.
He said he would also seek budget reforms, attrition in the federal work force, root out inefficiencies in government spending and collect billions of dollars in unpaid taxes by Americans.
With just two months until Election Day, national security has emerged as a centerpiece issue in the White House race.
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.
But to hard core Democrats and Republicans, they’ll be watching to see how the candidates perform on one of the nations top issues, our military and veterans. He has no military experience and has repeatedly criticized the skill of the armed forces.
Buoyed by polls showing him regaining some ground on Clinton, Trump portrayed himself in an address in Philadelphia as a defender of traditional Republican values on national security but with a distinct unwillingness to launch new wars in the Middle East.
Her case has been bolstered by numerous Republican national security experts who have spoken out against their party’s nominee, including former defence secretary William Cohen, who announced his support for Clinton on Wednesday.
In a prepared speech at a conservative club in Philadelphia, Mr Trump unveiled plans to grow the army by 50,000 to 540,000 soldiers, increase the size of the US Marine Corps, establish a new missile defence system, and build new ships and warplanes.
Mr Trump said on Wednesday he would pay for his build-up by lifting the defence spending caps mandated by the US Congress in 2011 and known as the “sequester”.
The United States already spends more than $600 billion a year on the military, more than the next seven countries combined.
Trump expressed support for the sequester in interviews in 2013 – even describing them as too small – but seemed to suggest at the time that military spending should be exempt. Republicans and Democrats voted for the automatic, across-the board cuts that affected both military and domestic programs.
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A Trump adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details ahead of the speech, said Trump would ensure the additional spending is fully paid for.
