Trump uses emails to criticize Clintons
GOP nominee blasts rival’s stance on Putin
TOLEDO, Ohio — Trailing in most polls with time running out, Donald Trump denounced Hillary and Bill Clinton on Thursday as creatures of a corrupt political system who would use another pass at the Oval Office to enrich themselves at the expense of American families, as he sought to build on his campaign’s reed-thin lead in Ohio during three campaign stops.
Trump seized on newly public emails in which longtime Bill Clinton aide Doug Band describes overlapping relationships of the Clintons’ global philanthropy and the family’s private enrichment.
The emails were among thousands stolen from the private account of a top Clinton aide, part of a hacking the Democratic campaign has blamed on the Russians.
“Mr. Band called the arrange-
An airplane carrying Mike Pence slid off the runway Thursday night while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Pence told reporters he was fine.
ment ‘unorthodox.’ The rest of us call it outright corrupt,” Trump declared during a rally in Springfield, Ohio. “If the Clintons were willing to play this fast and loose with their enterprise when they weren’t in the White House, just imagine what they’ll do in the Oval Office.”
Trump once again attacked the stamina of Hillary Clinton and said that he would reopen federal investigations into her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
“I watched after the last debate and after the second debate. She was tired, wow. She walked off that stage, of course she had a lot of people around; they had a lot of people around her, which was smart,” Trump said.
No evidence has emerged that Clinton was suffering physically during or after the debates.
An Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday found Clinton on the cusp of a potentially commanding victory, fueled by solid Democratic turnout in early voting, massive operational advantages and increasing enthusiasm among her supporters. The survey shows her leading Trump nationally by 14 percentage points among likely voters, 51-37. That margin is the largest national lead for Clinton among recent surveys.
Another troublesome sign for Trump: The Republicans’ congressional campaign committee has released a new TV ad that praises a GOP House member who has said Trump has “disqualified himself” to be president. The ad for Rep. Robert Dold of Illinois calls him an “independent voice” who has “stood up” to Trump, the first time the committee, which is devoted to electing Republicans to the House, has used a message openly critical of the party’s presidential nominee.
Still, the hacked emails and recent news of an Obamacare premium hike have appeared to hand Trump a pair of potent gifts in the campaign’s final fortnight. The Republican charged Thursday that the rate hikes were “making it impossible for parents to pay their bills and support their families.”
But to the frustration of many in his party, Trump has struggled to stay on message. While campaigning in Ohio, he criticized Clinton for being too tough on Vladimir Putin, another surprisingly favorable comment from Trump about the Russian leader.
“She speaks very badly of Putin, and I don’t think that’s smart,” he said.
Trump has been repeatedly criticized, by Republicans as well as Democrats, for failing to denounce Putin. He’s also refused to say whether he believes Russia is behind the hacking of Democratic groups, although intelligence agencies have pinned the blame on Moscow.
Earlier Thursday, he also repeated his insistence that Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq, would be alive if Trump had been president during the war. Khan’s family is supporting Clinton and has criticized Trump’s calls for temporarily banning Muslims from the U.S.
Clinton pounced on Trump’s comments Thursday, declaring: “I don’t understand how anyone would want to rub salt in the wounds of a grieving family.”
Trump, meanwhile, took his populist message to several working-class Ohio communities, telling a rally crowd in the must-win state that every time they see a closed factory they should remember “it was essentially caused by the Clintons.”
And then he noted the difference between his economic plan and what Clinton proposed, joking to the Toledo crowd, “Just thinking to myself right now we should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? Her policies are so bad!”
Also, an airplane carrying Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence slid off the runway Thursday night while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Pence told reporters he was fine and no one onboard appeared injured.