Trump claims Clinton could trigger Third World War in Syria
● Candidate takes time out to open new hotel, sparking media furore
Trump has claimed his rival for the US presidency, Hillary Clinton, would trigger a Third World War with her foreign policy plan in Syria.
The Republican candidate said the US should focus on defeating Islamic State rather than removing Syria’s president.
Mrs Clinton has proposed a no-fly zone over Syria. The Clinton campaign accused Mr Trump of “playing to Americans’ fears”.
Mr Trump said: “You’re going to end up in World War Three over Syria if we listen to Hillary Clinton.
“You’re not fighting Syria any more, you’re fighting Syria, Russia and Iran, all right?
“Russia is a nuclear country, but a country where the nukes work as opposed to other countries that talk.”
With less than two weeks left before Election Day, the Republican candidate took a break yesterday from full campaigning to formally open his new hotel in Washington.
Mr Trump’s hotel stop follows a visit on Tuesday to another of his properties, the Doral golf course outside Miami.
The odd travel schedule less than two weeks before the 8 November election illustrates a Republican ticket pulled in two directions while Democrat Mrs Clinton surges.
Mr Trump’s campaign manager defended the stops, arguing that Mrs Clinton took time off to prepare for the debates and that stops at Mr Trump’s hotels highlight his business experience.
“Hillary Clinton took five days off to prepare for one debate and everyone looked at that as some kind of noble exercise,” Kellyanne Conway said on NBC’S Today show.
“He’s got the most active campaign schedule of the two candidates by far.”
Mr Trump’s hotel visits dominated the campaign news yesterday at a time when Repub-donald licans see reports of rising Obamacare premiums and the hacked e-mail of a Clinton campaign staffer as far more potent political arguments.
Mrs Clinton, meanwhile, has turned some of her focus to the post-election period, describing the difficulty of unifying the country after a divisive race.
Deep in transition planning, people familiar with her effort say Mrs Clinton plans to impose strict ethics rules on how lobbyists may participate in her effort.
“What Trump has done is to make it possible for people who had racist, sexist and all kinds of prejudices and bigotry to put them right out there,” Mrs Clinton said on the Breakfast Club, a syndicated radio show based in New York City.
“I’m not going to be able to wave a magic wand and change everybody’s thoughts,” she added.
Mrs Clinton held two events in Florida yesterday, both aimed at encouraging voters in the state to cast early ballots.
It is the candidate’s 69th birthday, a milestone she celebrated a day early on Univision’s entertainment news show El Gordo Y La Flaca, where she was feted with a bottle of tequila and a large cake featuring her face and the White House.
Her campaign released two new ads billed as laying out her closing argument.
The spots, scheduled to run in seven battleground states, feature her plans to help families if elected and draw a contrast between her and Mr Trump.
“Our children are looking to us. What example will we set?” says actor Morgan Freeman, in one of the ads, as footage of children flashes on the screen.
Mr Trump’s hotel appearance comes amid signs that his controversial presidential campaign has hurt his corporate brand.
Rooms at the overhauled $212 million (£173m) hotel that bears his name at Washington’s Old Post Office Pavilion have been heavily discounted and smartphone data suggest fewer people are visiting his properties compared with rival venues nearby.