Clinton woos black voters on eve of TV debate
North Carolina, it surprised no one that she seized upon it.
Mrs Clinton announced that she was to visit today, on the eve of an eagerly anticipated first presidential debate. But in a snub to the 68-year-old, she was asked to stay away.
Yesterday, protesters in Charlotte took to the streets again for a rally to demand that the police release their footage of the shooting of Mr Scott, a father of seven, said to have been killed while waiting for his son to come home from school.
The 43-year-old was shot dead by a black officer outside an apartment complex on Tuesday as police searched for a suspect in a nearby robbery. Police say they saw Mr Scott get out of his car holding a gun and mistook him for the wanted man. After approaching the vehicle and telling him to drop the weapon, he allegedly got out holding the gun for a second time, at which point he was shot.
Kerr Putney, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief, announced yesterday the release of two clips – one from the dashcam of the police car, and one from the body cameras – after mounting anger at his failure to make the footage public.
Mr Putney said it was unclear whether Mr Scott had pointed the gun at po- lice, but that he was shot because he was considered a threat and was in possession of marijuana. He said police recovered a gun at the scene. However, Mr Scott’s family disputes this.
On Friday, Mrs Clinton had tweeted: “Charlotte should release police video of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting without delay. We must ensure justice & work to bridge divides. – H”
Jennifer Roberts, the mayor of Charlotte, the Scott family and the NAACP have all called for the police video to be released. Mr Putney said that the force wanted to take its time to question all those involved and had not wanted to release footage which could distort views, or inflame the situation.
“Today, I have decided that we are at a stage where I can release additional information without adversely impacting the investigation,” he said yester- day. “Doing it earlier would have had a negative impact on the integrity of the investigation.”
However, he was criticised for failing to release all the footage available.
Charlotte was rocked by riots on Tuesday and Wednesday night, and by Friday Mrs Clinton had announced she wanted to visit. Donald Trump – who has struggled to win over minorities – followed suit, saying he would visit on Tuesday, after the debate.
But, to her embarrassment, the mayor then went on CNN to ask both candidates to stay away. Mrs Clinton’s team announced that she had postponed her trip by a week, and Mr Trump – who is yet to decide whether to delay his visit – took the chance to attack her.
“Crooked Hillary’s bad judgment forced her to announce that she would go to Charlotte on Saturday to grandstand. Dem pols said no way, dumb!” he tweeted.
“Hillary is grateful for, and intends to honour, the invitation from faith leaders to visit with the Charlotte community,” her campaign said in a statement on Friday. “After further discussion with community leaders, we have decided to postpone Sunday’s trip as to not impact the city’s resources,” it said.
The incident is guaranteed to feature in tomorrow’s debate, which will be watched by an estimated 100million people. Mrs Clinton plans to “get under Donald Trump’s skin” and provoke him into losing his temper, it has been reported. Rather than focusing on policy Mrs Clinton’s campaign has decided to turn the epic showdown into a referendum Don’t shoot him. Don’t shoot him. He has no weapon. He has no weapon. Don’t shoot him. He didn’t do anything. on Mr Trump’s temperament and character.
As details of Mrs Clinton’s strategy leaked, Mr Trump vowed he would not take the bait, and would “stay cool” during the clash at New York’s Hofstra University. Mrs Clinton’s plan is said to include trying to rile Mr Trump with taunts that he is not worth as much money as he claims, and that he is a liar, xenophobe, and sexist bully.
Allies of Mr Trump suggested he would seek to disappoint the audience tuning in expecting fireworks. They have impressed on him that he should refrain from overly personal remarks, avoid espousing conspiracy theories, and be courteous to the moderator.
His advisers are keenly aware that only 30 per cent of registered voters consider the Republican nominee qualified to be President. They see the debate as an opportunity to show he is capable of remaining calm in the eye of a storm. In particular, Mr Trump’s advisers believe a debate without major controversy would advance his cause with white college-educated women, who have been alienated by some of his rhetoric and campaign antics.
Mr Trump is said to be convinced he can win the debate with a few well-chosen one-liners, or “zingers”, that will be endlessly replayed on television. He has said: “I’m going to be very respectful of Hillary Clinton. I think she deserves that, and I’m going to be nice.”
Despite her superior grasp of policy detail Mrs Clinton, who has been preparing for months, is said to have accepted the debate will be more about style and sound bites, than substance.
She has been readying deeply personal put-downs, and absorbing green ring-binders packed with background research on Mr Trump including psychological analysis. One Democratic strategist said it was a golden opportunity for Mrs Clinton to “let people see her as she is, a very appealing person”.
But any mistakes will be magnified in front of the biggest ever TV audience for a political debate. And the debate could be lost in an instant, perhaps because of something unexpected. “If Hillary Clinton has a coughing spell that’s going to feed the narrative that she doesn’t have the stamina, as Trump has alleged,” said Brett O’Donnell, a Republican debate coach. “She needs to remember to drink lots of water.”