Trump talks ‘Crooked Hillary Clinton’ in Charlotte

First there was Hillary. Clinton, that is, the Democratic presidential nominee who spoke in Charlotte on Monday.

Then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came into town yesterday to speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Trump’s visit in a nutshell

The theme of the event: Trump repeatedly attacking Clinton. To the point of prompting the audience to shout “Lock her up!” Trumps statements included: “You know her name: Crooked Hillary Clinton. And believe me folks, she is crooked.”

He also commented on the outcome of American foreign policy when Clinton was Secretary of State in the Obama administration, saying: “In a very true way, they really established ISIS, because of weakness.”

What Trump promised: To get rid of government corruption, overturn the “rigged” system, improve VA health care and create a 24-hour hotline in the White House for veterans to call to share complaints about the service.

What Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, promised: “Our military is too small, and he will rebuild it,” Pence said about Trump. “Our VA is broken and this builder (Trump) will fix it.”

Trump offered an opinion on handling refugees: He said he would not allow refugees to enter the U.S. from Syria and criticized Clinton for wanting to bring refugees into the U.S. (The crowd cheered.)

On friendship: “We can’t be taken advantage of by these countries that we work so closely with. Many of these countries are taking advantage of us, folks,” Trump said. “We want to be friends, but they also have to be friends with us.”

Read more about Trump’s visit to Charlotte here.

Photo: David T. Foster III

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Trump talks ‘Crooked Hillary Clinton’ in Charlotte."