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Clinton: Trump unqualified to be president
YOUNGSTOWN
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, attacked Donald Trump, her Republican opponent, saying the billionaire businessman’s practices are unethical.
“I take personally what Donald Trump does to small businesses,” she said late Saturday at a rally in the East High School gymnasium. “It’s not a talking point. It’s personal.”
Clinton said Trump “is unfit and unqualified to be president of the United States.”
About 1,200 people were inside the gym with about 400 more in the cafeteria, a makeshift overflow room. The fire marshal stopped people from coming into the gym about 7 p.m.
The rally was to start at 7:45 p.m., but Clinton and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate from Virginia, and their spouses, didn’t hit the stage until 10:20 p.m.
Former President Bill Clinton, her husband, had introduced her at earlier events Saturday, but he just smiled and listened to speeches from his wife and Kaine.
During her 27-minute speech, Clinton promised to be back in the Mahoning Valley.
She acknowledged that Trump is popular in the Valley. But she urged those in the audience to talk to Trump supporters to convince them she’s the better candidate.
“Try having a conversation with them,” she said of Trump supporters. “Ask them to look at the facts, the stories in the press everyday about people being stiffed” by Trump in his private business deals.
Clinton criticized Trump for his businesses making products overseas while attacking others for doing the same thing.
Trump says, “Let’s make America great,” Clinton said. “He talks about putting America first. Then why does he make suits in Mexico instead of Brooklyn, Ohio?”
She echoed that line given by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Cleveland, who said it Thursday during his prime-time speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Clinton outlined her economic plan she said would make the largest investment in jobs since World War II during her first 100 days in office.
The plan includes training people for manufacturing jobs such as welders and machinists, providing broadband communication to everyone, making tuition to four-year colleges debt-free, fighting unfair trade deals, and eliminating right-to-work laws.
“How are we going to pay for it?” Clinton said. “Increase taxes on big corporations, Wall Street and the wealthy.”
There were plenty of problems with the location of the event.
Clinton was nearly three hours late. That left some people standing for five hours before she spoke. A few people passed out from the heat generated by the packed audience. One person collapsed and was carried out on a stretcher.
Because the venue was small, about 400 stood and sat in the overflow area, including those who came early.
Mahoning Valley Democrats had suggested several other locations, including Boardman High School, the Struthers Fieldhouse and the Covelli Centre. But the campaign insisted on East High School.
Parking spots at the school were quickly filled as were on-street parking near the school. A few residents charged people $5 to park on their property with most filled.
Adriana Greenlief of Kent arrived at 5:45 p.m. – the campaign had said the doors would open at that time – but wasn’t permitted in the gym.
“I’m disappointed, especially because we RSVP’d online and showed up when we were supposed to,” she said.
Clinton said she was delayed because of thunderstorms, and apologized to the crowd. Based on the enthusiastic response she received when she arrived and during her speech, most apparently didn’t mind too much.
Clinton was late during her two earlier events Saturday in Johnstown, Pa., and Pittsburgh.
“Is Hillary worth the wait?” Kaine asked, and was met by applause.
Like Clinton, Kaine went after Trump in his speech.
“Do you want a ‘you’re fired’ president or a ‘you’re hired’ president,” Kaine asked using Trump’s catch phrase from his “Apprentice” television show.
Kaine mentioned that Ohio, a key swing state in the presidential election, “is so critical to this election.”
Clinton finishes a three-day tour of Pennsylvania and Ohio today with a stop in Columbus. The campaign canceled a visit today to Cleveland.