If elected president, Trump says he will give his top generals a “simple” instruction: Within 30 days, come up with a plan for “soundly and quickly defeating” the Islamic State group. This has been a right-wing conspiracy theory for years, which some date back to a fall she suffered in 2012, but which probably goes back even further into the mists of time.
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A CNN/ORC poll Tuesday showed Trump, a brash real estate mogul running for his first elected office, edging ahead of Clinton, a former USA secretary of state, by a 45 to 43 percent margin, while a collection of polls compiled by realclearpolitics.com gives her about a 3-percentage-point advantage.
“His whole campaign has been one long insult to all those who have worn the uniform to protect our most cherished American values”.
Clinton was asked about a letter signed by 88 retired military officials in support of Donald Trump during a briefing with reporters on her campaign plane Tuesday. It was aimed at rebutting Clinton’s arguments that she would be best positioned to lead the military and reassuring Republicans who have openly anxious that his provocative statements might undermine US alliances.
The military leaders write, “We believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world”.
On honesty, Clinton’s backers express greater skepticism about their candidate than do Trump’s supporters.
Trump’s critics jumped on the remarks, saying that they were based on the fact that Clinton was female. She pointed to her endorsements from retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who blasted Trump at the Democratic National Committee, and former Central Intelligence Agency deputy director Mike Morell.
Then, alongside retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn at an event in Virginia Beach – where fighter jets could be heard whooshing overhead – Trump said of Clinton that “virtually every decision she’s made has been a loser”. They described her as relishing going after Trump on this topic because she feels she knows it well and he doesn’t.
Trump and Clinton are aggressively courting veterans this week ahead of a national security forum scheduled for Wednesday evening. 26 in NY.
Trump promised to fix problems at the Veterans Administration, which has grappled with patient care mismanagement during the Obama administration.
Clinton’s message was amplified by her running mate, Virginia Sen. “It’s even a chant at his rallies”, Kaine will say, according to excerpts of the speech reviewed by Reuters.
On Iraq specifically, Mr. Kaine said the idea that Mr. Trump always has opposed USA military action is a fallacy.
Trump’s campaign also on Tuesday released a letter signed by 88 former USA military leaders who are supporting the NY businessman’s unorthodox candidacy.
The spot includes clips of Trump claiming to know more about the Islamic State group than military generals, and his criticism of McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona and a former prisoner of war.
It also shows Trump saying he had sacrificed a lot in comparison to families who have lost loved ones in conflict.
The ad is airing on cable and in Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Clinton continues to be seen as holding the better temperament to serve effectively as president (56 percent to 36 percent) and better able to handle the responsibilities of commander in chief (50 percent to 45 percent).
Separately, Trump continued to face questions about his immigration policy a day after refusing to rule out a pathway to legal status for immigrants in the country illegally.
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Both candidates are hitting the campaign trail again Tuesday in key election states where the outcome is uncertain, with Trump in the mid-Atlantic states of Virginia and North Carolina, and Clinton in the southeastern state of Florida.
