The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Trump cannot be trusted insists Hillary Clinton
Republican hits back, saying ‘a lot of lies being told’
Hillary Clinton has cast herself as a unifier for divided times, an experienced leader steeled for a volatile world – and aggressively challenged Donald Trump’s ability to do the same.
“Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis,” the former US Secretary of State and First Lady said, as she accepted the Democratic nomination for president early yesterday.
“A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”
Mrs Clinton took the stage to roaring applause from flag-waving delegates on the final night of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
But her real audience was the millions of voters watching at home, many of whom may welcome her experience, but question her character.
She acknowledged those concerns briefly, saying: “I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me.” But her primary focus was persuading Americans to not be seduced by Republican presidential candidate Mr Trump’s vague promises to restore economic security and fend off threats from abroad.
Mrs Clinton said the US needed a leader who would work with allies to keep America safe.
The presidential election presented a stark choice on national security, she said, with the US facing “determined enemies that must be defeated”.
And she pledged to defeat the Islamic State group with air strikes and support for local ground forces, while authorising a “surge” in intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks.
She now has just over three months to persuade Americans that Mr Trump is unfit for the Oval Office and overcome the visceral connection he has with some voters in a way the Democratic nominee does not.
Campaigning in Iowa on Thursday, Mr Trump said there were “a lot of lies being told” at Mrs Clinton’s convention. In an earlier statement, he accused Democrats of living in a “fantasy world”, ignoring economic and security troubles as well as Mrs Clinton’s controversial email use at the US State Department.
The FBI’s investigation into her use of a private internet server did not result in criminal charges, but it did appear to deepen voters’ concerns with her honesty and trustworthiness.
A separate pre-convention controversy over hacked Democratic Party emails showing favouritism for Mrs Clinton in the primary threatens to deepen the perception that she prefers to play by her own rules.