Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla.
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Trump has blamed the USA news media for taking many of his comments out of context, and on Thursday night, some of his supporters heckled and cursed reporters who covered the rally in a large arena in Kissimmee.
Straying from his trademark bravado, Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that his presidential campaign is facing challenges and could ultimately fall short – a rare expression of humility by the Republican presidential nominee.
Donald Trump sparked fresh criticism of his leadership ability on Thursday after he claimed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton founded Islamic State.
But in a Twitter message on Friday criticising CNN’s coverage, he said the network had reported his claim “so seriously”. Trump tweeted: “THEY DON’T GET SARCASM?“.
During a Florida campaign rally, Trump told his supporters that ISIS “honors” President Obama.
Trump was not expected to attend the Orlando gathering after staging a rally near here on Thursday.
Trump strongly denied that, but a number of Republican officials are cringing. However, Trump doubled-down on his comments the next day on conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt’s radio program.
“And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton”, he added.
“I would say they could be tried there”, Trump said.
“In fact, I think we’ll give Hillary Clinton. most valuable player”, Trump said. “He was the founder”.
But in 2011, before the Islamic State was lethal and as Obama was determined to keep his campaign promise to end the war started by President George W. Bush, Washington wanted to leave several thousand American troops in the country to train Iraqi security forces.
Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is “trying to kill them”. Trump frequently says, to contrast himself with Clinton, that he opposed the war – but in interviews before the invasion he did voice support.
Trump stood by his allegations. “That’s what it means”, Trump said. “I think we’re going to have a victory, but we’ll see”, the 70-year-old Republican said.
Since July’s Republican convention, Clinton has taken a firm lead in the polls as Trump has struggled from controversy to controversy, pursuing a feud with the Muslim family of a dead U.S. army captain and suggesting Russian Federation publish any of Clinton’s missing emails it has hacked, before this week’s inflammatory remarks.
While it didn’t seem likely Trump actually thought Obama created the terror organization, he has made yet another verbal flip flop and is again having to clarify a comment – meaning more negative optics.
“I don’t care”, the billionaire businessman replied.
Clinton’s campaign accused Trump of “trash-talking” the US while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own. His, the way he got out of Iraq was that that was the founding of ISIS, okay?
The Islamic State group began as the al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq. Those concerns are compelling enough that dozens of anxious Republicans gathered signatures Thursday for a letter urging the GOP chairman to stop helping Trump and focus on protecting vulnerable House and Senate candidates.
Trump said he wasn’t anxious Republicans would cut him off – and threatened to stop fundraising for the party if they do. The state’s large Mormon population has voiced serious scepticism about him, though the state’s Republican governor has endorsed him. The officials weren’t authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
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UPDATE: Politico Playbook now confirms the news.
