Friday, July 22, 2016
Donald Trump will accuse Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of being corrupt and ineffective and portray himself as a friend of the working class who will restore law and order in a speech on Thursday accepting the Republican presidential nomination.
"I’m with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you," Trump will say, according to speech excerpts released by his campaign and a draft text circulating among news organizations.
The Trump campaign did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the draft of the speech Trump was scheduled to deliver at the Republican National Convention at 10:15 p.m. (0215 GMT on Friday).
The New York businessman, who has never held elective office, needs a strong performance to improve his chances of getting a boost in opinion polls as Democrats prepare for their own, more scripted convention next week in Philadelphia.
In a contest that pits two politicians viewed as unfavorable by large segments of the American people, Trump will accuse Clinton of failures while serving as President Barack Obama's first-term secretary of state and cite her use of a private email server and destruction of emails as evidence that "corruption has reached a level like never before."
Trump will also blame her policies for the rise of Islamic State militants, a situation many Democrats blame on Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, for launching the Iraq war. He will also criticize her willingness to bring in thousands of refugees from the Syrian civil war.
"Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy," Trump will say. "The problems we face now – poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad – will last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created them."
Trump and his aides have been unable to put to rest questions about whether they can mount a sophisticated campaign to take on Clinton's well-oiled operation. He currently trails Clinton, who is seeking to become the first woman elected U.S. president, in most opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election.