story by Steve Brawner, courtesy of Talk Business & Politics
brawnersteve@mac.com
Donald Trump and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were in Little Rock over the weekend to address the state’s Republican and Democrat parties, respectively. Trump followed his Friday night visit in Little Rock with controversial remarks about U.S. John McCain, and Clinton on Saturday included Trump in her speech.
Trump on Sunday said said McCain, who was a Naval aviator in Vietnam who was shot down and spent more than five years of a tortured existence in a North Vietnamese prison camp, was not a war hero just because he was captured.
"I like people that weren't captured, OK?” Trump said during an interview.
TRUMP IN LITTLE ROCK
Trump told 1,000 Arkansas Republicans Friday night at their annual Reagan-Rockefeller Dinner that he would use his business prowess to make America strong.
“Bush will never have a clue and Hillary will never have a clue. …. Who would you rather have negotiating against China – Bush, HIllary or Trump?” he said.
Trump pulled no punches before a crowd that seemed largely supportive and entertained. He characterized the nuclear arms deal as a win for Iran, saying that sanctions should have been doubled or tripled before the negotiations began so the Iranians would surrender more at the bargaining table. He said the status of the four Americans known or thought to be in Iran should have been included in the talks.
“You look at this new deal with Iran. It’s disgusting. It’s disgusting. It’s done by rank amateurs,” he said.
Trump would take a similar tack against the Ford Motor Company for its decision to build a major plant in Mexico. Were he president, he would threaten Ford’s top executive with a 35% tax to import those cars back into the United States. Given that kind of ultimatum, Ford would quickly capitulate, he said.
Trump criticized Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush as politicians who will be beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have donated money to their campaigns. He said he would force Japan to open its markets to American goods. Of his competitors, he said in his press conference, “That’s what a politician is: all talk, no action. And I will create jobs like you’ve never seen. I will be the greatest job-producing president that God ever created.”
Trump ignited controversy during his presidential announcement June 16 by saying Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals across the border. He did not apologize for those remarks. In fact, he said he would win the Hispanic vote.
“I’ve been saying from day one I will win the Hispanics because I’m taking jobs back from China, I’m taking jobs back from everywhere,” he said in his press conference.
Trump also pledged to strengthen America’s military and to improve the treatment of American veterans. He criticized the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying that Iraq and Iran had reached a stalemate until Saddam Hussein was deposed, but now Iran is taking control of Iraq while ISIS is gaining more territory.
“With that being said, you cannot let ISIS get away with what they’re doing,” he said.
He also described himself as strongly pro-Second Amendment and criticized the fact that the four Marines killed Thursday in Chattanooga were not allowed to carry guns. He also said he was pro-life but has mixed feelings about term limits.
Trump brushed aside claims by some pundits that his early support will fade.
“I don’t think it’s going to die,” he said in his press conference. “I don’t think anybody has my message. First of all, I know my competitors. They can’t create jobs. Who’s better at creating jobs than Trump? Nobody.”
CLINTON TAKES THE STAGE
Speaking before 2,500 Democrats at the state party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Clinton said, “Democrats are in the future business, but from the Republican candidates for president, we see the opposite. They may have some fresh faces, but they are the party of the past.”
Clinton, who was introduced by former Gov. Mike Beebe, criticized Republican Party policies, which she characterized as based on cutting taxes for the wealthy and letting big corporations write their own rules. She expressed support for a range of policies she said would help women, including paid leave, sick days, and equal pay for equal work, explaining that policies that help women help the entire country. She said she would fight against efforts to roll back regulations on Wall Street and called for prosecuting individuals along with corporations for committing financial fraud.
“Trickle down economics has to be one of the worst ideas from the 1980s,” she said. “It is right up there with New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair. I lived under that. There are photographs, and believe me, we’re not going back.”
Clinton took a jab at Trump.
“Donald Trump: Finally a candidate whose hair gets more attention than mine,” she said. “But there’s nothing funny about the hate he is spewing at immigrants and their families and now the insults he’s directed at a genuine war hero, Sen. John McCain.”
She also criticized Jeb Bush, who said in New Hampshire that for the United States to achieve 4% economic growth, workforce participation needs to increase and workers need to work more hours to increase their income. Bush since has said he meant that people with part-time jobs need opportunities to do more work. But Clinton said he was backtracking and that his policies won’t help those people.
“Giving more tax cuts to those at the top will not do anything for part-time workers,” she said. “Rolling back rules for Wall Street won’t help families get ahead, and getting rid of the Affordable Care Act won’t help entrepreneurs – just ask the folks in the sharing economy who say it’s huge for business. Americans don’t need a lecture. They need a raise.”
Clinton recalled her years living in Arkansas, where she and husband Bill raised their daughter, Chelsea. Being a new grandmother reminds her of those days and has rooted her in both the present and in the future, she said.
She expressed support for universal preschool for all four-year-olds and said she would work to create policies to refinance student debt, saying, “Education should lift up young people, not drag you down.”