By Steve Holland
CLEVELAND: Donald Trump will lay out a searing indictment of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as 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.
He 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 as evidence she is corrupt.
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.
“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.
CRIME ISSUE
In his speech, Trump will also raise the specter of crime, saying gun violence is raging in many cities and that 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records “are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.”
Trump will tell Americans he will speedily address the violence that has dominated headlines, such as the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers earlier this month.
“I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on Jan. 20, 2017, safety will be restored,” Trump will say. The next president takes office on Jan. 20.
Trump will also say that middle-income Americans and businesses will enjoy tax cuts and that taxes will be simplified for everyone.
He would roll back federal regulations that he said cost the country $2 trillion a year, providing new wealth that will allow an upsurge in spending to repair roads, bridges, airports and tunnels.
“This, in turn, will create millions of jobs,” Trump said.
(Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson, Angela Moon, Michelle Conlin and David Alexander; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)
Reuters
