Donald Trump challenges Hillary Clinton at Road to Majority conference
WASHINGTON — Over the weekend, the Trump train took a more faith-friendly route, making a stop at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in Washington D.C.
That didn’t stop Donald Trump from speaking about whom he refers to as “Crooked Hillary Clinton.” Friday afternoon the businessman announced he would like to challenge Clinton as she supports the fight to accept and welcome more refugees to America.
“We have enough problems,” Trump says. “We have to take care of the people that are here . . . we don’t know where (the refugees) come from. We have to take a time-out. We have to use the money to take care of our poorest Americans.”
Trump, a Presbyterian Protestant, did use a teleprompter, despite his past criticism of teleprompters.
The presumptive Republican nominee went on to address the mostly Christian audience at the Omni Shoreham Hotel’s Regency Ballroom, saying he would like to lay out his goals and speak about “shared values” from the “heart.”
Trump added that there has been too much division in this country.
“We will put America first . . . I care and you care,” he says, adding that religious freedom is the “right of people of faith to freely practice their faith.”
President Obama officially announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton Thursday afternoon, and Trump was sure to emphasize the fact that Clinton is still under investigation after using a private server to send emails.
“The first time ever by the way, a president of the United States endorsed somebody under criminal investigation,” Trump says.
While The White House released a statement acknowledging the fact that Clinton is under investigation, Lauren Carroll, a reporter from PolitiFact says whether or not Clinton “meets the definition of an official FBI ‘target’ is unknown.”
“What’s important to understand is this bit of nuance that is often lost: When you hear Clinton’s email is under ‘criminal investigation,’ you might think that means criminal activity definitely occurred and now they’re preparing for an inevitable Clinton indictment,” Carroll tells Accuracy in Media.
The case, however, isn’t as clear-cut as it seems, seeing as the investigation has been going on for 10 months now.
“It’s more like the FBI is determining if any criminal activity occurred in connection with the email setup,” Carroll says. “Clinton’s actions are obviously front and center here, but it’s totally unknown at this point whether she is a suspect in a crime.”
Trump name-dropped Clinton a few more times, telling the audience “she will undermine the wages of working people.”
“She wants to raise your taxes tremendously . . . she has jeopardized national security by putting emails on a private server,” Trump says.
As the candidate spoke to evangelicals about Clinton and her “crooked” views, Clinton spoke to her own audience members at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event. She said Trump has been trying to “turn back the clock” on women’s rights, particularly speaking on contraception and abortion.
Back at the Omni Shoreham, Trump was interrupted by a few female protesters who said they would like Trump to stop using “hateful rhetoric” toward minorities — or anyone, for that matter.
Trump responded by calling these protestors “professional agitators.” They were escorted as the crowd booed them and chanted “USA, USA.”
The candidate also spoke about protecting and honoring law enforcement officers, as well as acknowledging the “threat of radical Islam,” appointing new judges who are “pro-life” and fighting for “religious freedom” and diversity.
“We will protect the right of churches to speak their minds on political matters — free from intimidation,” he says.
But this wasn’t the only time this week that Trump publicly spoke about his religion. In an interview that was published Wednesday, he opened up about his relationship with Jesus Christ.
“(Jesus is) somebody I can revere in terms of bravery and in terms of courage and, because I consider the Christian religion so important, somebody I can totally rely on in my own mind.”
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Amanda Florian
