Promising to “jump-start America” to a new era of prosperity, Donald Trump announced a revamped economic plan Monday aimed at revitalizing a stagnant US economy by cutting taxes for workers and businesses. He assailed Hillary Clinton as a candidate who would merely extend a Democratic period of old ideas and weakness.
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A public letter released on Tuesday in Washington noted that, 50 high-ranking former national security and foreign policy officials, who served under Republican presidents in the last four decades stood together against Trump.
Some of the latest letter’s signatories plan to vote for Mr Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton while others will refuse to vote, but “all agree Trump is not qualified and would be risky”, said John Bellinger, a former legal adviser to Ms Rice who drafted the letter. He said he wants to “jumpstart America” and added, “It won’t even be that hard”.
Delivering his speech from a teleprompter, Trump was interrupted repeatedly by protesters who stood on chairs and shouted at him before being pulled out of the room by security guards.
“In short, the city of Detroit is the living, breathing example of my opponent’s failed economic agenda”, Trump said, referring to Clinton. He also unveiled a new proposal to allow parents to fully deduct the average cost of child care from their taxable income, while insisting that when he’s president, “Americanism, not globalism, will be our new credo”. It’s a theme Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, first introduced during the Republican National Convention as his campaign seeks to broaden its appeal to Democratic voters ahead of the general election. He called her “the candidate of the past”.
The statement did not cite specific comments by Trump, but it clearly was a response to a series of remarks he has made questioning the need for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, expressing admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for a temporary ban on immigration by Muslims, and inviting Russia to hack Clinton’s private email server – which he later said was a joke.
Clinton is scheduled to give her own Detroit speech on Thursday. He announced his support for Ryan on Friday.
Susan Collins, a Republican, will not vote for Donald Trump for president, writing in The Washington Post that she was “increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments”.
Trump also revisited his opposition to current trade deals, including his plan to renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
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With the non-endorsement, Collins becomes one of the highest-profile Republican senators to publicly say she will not support the controversial businessman. A day after campaigning in MI, the real estate mogul planned a pair of rallies in North Carolina. “And he is a man who speaks his mind”.
