In a nutshell: Hillary Clinton’s Monday visit to Charlotte

One of the fun parts about being in a swing state: Charlotte gets some national attention.

Presumptive Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton rolled into town yesterday for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center. This visit came three days before she’s expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president. Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to address the VFW today.

Clinton’s visit in a nutshell:

She promised: To set reforming the VA healthcare system as a top priority, and to work to end suicide and homelessness among veterans.

She had a potentially tough crowd: According to a recent Military Times poll, 49 percent of active service members favor Trump while 21 percent favor Clinton. (But she buttered them up a bit with statements like: “I believe that he [John McCain] and all American prisoners of war are heroes and deserve respect.”)

There were only mild disruptions: Near the start of Clinton’s speech, someone in the audience shouted, “How about Benghazi?” Another man said, “Can’t stand her,” and walked out once she started talking. Clinton did get some polite applause, though.

Clinton didn’t mention Trump by name: She did portray herself as the more optimistic candidate, vs. Trump’s view that the U.S. is in a difficult situation and the military is weakened. Clinton said she doesn’t “understand people who trash-talk America,” and that she won’t be the candidate of “fear and smear” tactics.

Why she took a quick trip to NoDa afterward: There, at the Neighborhood Theatre, Clinton met with campaign volunteers and said Trump took his “dark, divisive, dangerous campaign to another level.”

Trump’s turn.

Read more about Clinton’s visit to Charlotte here.

Photo: David T. Foster III

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "In a nutshell: Hillary Clinton’s Monday visit to Charlotte."