Trump: ‘We reject the bigotry’ of Clinton

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday accused rival Hillary Clinton of “bigotry” and said she’s taking black voters for granted.

Trump claimed during his speech in West Bend, Wis., that Democrats have “done nothing in return” for the votes of African-Americans.

{mosads}”They’ve taken advantage of the African-American citizen,” Trump said. “It’s time to give the Democrats some competition for these votes and it’s time to rebuild the inner cities of America and reject the failed, rigged system.

“We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes, that’s all they care about, not as human beings worthy of a better future,” he said. “They have taken advantage.”

Trump also made the case that African-Americans were the hardest hit by a lack of policing. The billionaire called for enhancing law enforcement in the wake of increased racial tension following the fatal police-involved shooting of a black man in Milwaukee — about 40 miles from where he gave his Tuesday speech — who authorities say was armed.

Trump said that “law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods” are impacted the most by a lack of law and order, adding, “There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct for anyone.”

The remarks represent an escalation of attacks on his Democratic counterpart. Trump is seeking to regain footing in the presidential race after weeks of lagging polling figures showing him losing in battleground states following several controversies over his own statements.

It was the third carefully scripted Trump speech in two weeks meant to posit Trump as a credible presidential nominee less than three months before the election, and it came on the heels of his speech last week on the economy and speech Monday on foreign policy. 

Earlier in the evening, Trump’s campaign posted a “pledge” on Facebook to “reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all its forms.”

Trump, who averaged just 2 percent support among black voters in several recent polls after last month’s conventions, rattled off crime and poverty statistics in several communities, blaming Democrats for issues facing those in the nation’s inner cities.

Intertwined with his appeal to black voters was his rebuke of a “rigged” political system, accusing Democrats of tilting the scales for Clinton and praising himself for emerging as the GOP nominee despite political and monetary opposition.

“Eventually we’re going to break that system,” Trump vowed.

Trump said he was fighting for “a peaceful regime change in our own country,” defining a new agenda focused on “government of, by and for the people.”

“It’s time to stop making the special interests rich. It’s time to make the American people much richer than they’ve ever been before,” he said.

Between the two major party candidates, it has long been Trump who has faced accusations of bigotry during the White House campaign, most prominently over his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and his claims that a federal judge overseeing a Trump University case was biased due to his Mexican heritage.

“We’re at a decisive moment in this election,” Trump said. 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus spoke briefly before Trump at the rally in a show of party unity. 

Walker stressed that only two names will appear on the ballot in November, saying, “You know in your hearts that Hillary Clinton is not the candidate of change.”

Trump in return called Walker “a great gentleman and a really great governor,” a marked contrast from the pair’s colorful history. Trump boasted in March of having sent Walker “packing like a little boy” in the GOP primary.

“He walked out in disgrace. I’m surprised he has any juice left in Wisconsin,” the real estate tycoon remarked then.

The Wisconsin governor, months after ending his own presidential campaign, initially endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who would go on to win the Badger State primary before backing the eventual nominee. 

Unlike Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Walker has since come out in support of Trump’s candidacy. Still, he has denounced or distanced himself from some Trump statements, such as his attack on the judge’s heritage in June and his attack on a Gold Star family earlier this month.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also spoke ahead of Trump, offering many of the same points accusing Democrats of being responsible for issues facing those in inner cities.

—Updated 11:38 p.m.