The importance of OH was evident from the runway at the airport here: When Clinton touched down in her newly acquired jet – emblazoned with her “Stronger Together” slogan – Trump’s personal plane and the campaign jet used by his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, were already parked on the tarmac.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, at a union picnic here on Monday, accused rival Donald Trump of having his products made overseas, stiffing contractors and being antagonistic toward unions. She made nice with the news media by opening up her campaign plane and chatting with reporters.
At they head toward November, Trump, a political novice, and Clinton, a veteran politician, are confronting historically low approval ratings among voters for whom they are well-known commodities.
TRUMP: He promised last week to create a deportation task force that would prioritize the removal of criminals, people who have overstayed their visas and other immediate security threats. “I’m not concerned about the conspiracy theories. I’ve seen that. So yeah, we’re doing some”, Trump told reporters.
Clinton said the Russian hacking was “almost unthinkable” and compared the intrusions into a variety of Democratic bodies to Watergate, the infamous break-in of the Democratic National Committee in 1972 by aides close to then President Richard Nixon. The emails, later revealed by WikiLeaks, showed some DNC officials favouring Clinton over her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders – who has since endorsed Clinton for president.
“I’m all about the jobs now”, he said, saying his position on the immigration issue was now well known. He said he opposed any path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, but did not explicitly rule out a long-term path to legal status if the nation’s immigration system is overhauled.
“I’m ready. I’m more than ready”, she said of the intense, two-month battle ahead as she attempts to become the first female U.S. commander in chief.
The Cleveland, Ohio crowd gathered for Clinton’s rally and it was immediately apparent that she was suffering from a hoarse voice. “He can try to distract with divisive, risky rhetoric; he can try to fool voters into thinking somehow he’s not as harsh and inhumane as he seems, but it’s too late, when you have seen what he has said and done in this campaign”.
Highlighting the intensity of the fight for battleground states like Ohio, Trump was already on the ground in Cleveland for his own campaign events when Clinton arrived, their planes parking about two football fields apart on the tarmac.
“I’m not a fan, I feel like he’s divisive”, said Anthony Russo, a Clinton supporter.
Later in the day, she was joining with labor leaders in the Quad Cities community of Hampton, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from Iowa, where she is locked in a tight contest with Trump. “You need energy, man”.
He added, “She didn’t have the energy to go to Louisiana”.
He continued: ‘She should have gone to Louisiana and she should have gone to Mexico.
Clinton is again on the defensive over her use of a private email server and possible conflicts of interest with her family foundation while secretary of state, which have caused unease for some voters.
“The fact that our intelligence professionals are now studying this and taking it seriously raises some grave questions about potential Russian interference with our electoral process”, Clinton said.
While Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign, both Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer.
Maybe the biggest pivot point this month will be the first Presidential debate, which is now less than three weeks away, set for Monday September 26 at Hofstra University in NY.
And while Sunday’s CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Clinton, 68, leading Trump in two key states – by 8 points in Pennsylvania and 4 points in North Carolina – recent polls show the race tightening nationally.
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Trump told reporters Monday that “on occasion”, he will invite journalists to travel with him.
