Trump to Clinton: 'You can't lead this nation if you have such a low opinion of its citizens'
WASHINGTON _ Donald Trump, who has defined his campaign by repeatedly refusing to back down from controversial comments, said Monday that Hillary Clinton should be disqualified from leading the country and should apologize for labeling half of his supporters "deplorables."
"You can't lead this nation if you have such a low opinion of its citizens," Trump said during a speech in Baltimore in front of the National Guard Association.
The turnabout from Trump marks what his campaign believes is an important moment: an opportunity to put Clinton on the defensive for calling millions of his supporters racist, homophobic and Islamophobic. Trump renewed his argument that Clinton was following an old Democratic playbook, to push back against voters who want change by branding them intolerant.
Trump's support from alt-right groups and nativists _ combined with his own inflammatory rhetoric about President Barack Obama's citizenship and Mexicans crossing the border _ has cost him support among moderate voters, especially suburban women.
"People who want their immigration laws enforced, and their borders secured, are not racists," Trump said. "They are patriotic Americans of all backgrounds who want their jobs and families protected."
_Tribune Washington Bureau
