WASHINGTON — Donald Trump attempted to relaunch his troubled campaign Wednesday with a scripted speech fusing his anti-trade economic message with a series of attacks on Hillary Clinton that ran the gamut from harsh to unprovable to false.
It was in many ways two speeches, with one designed to show a more disciplined politician who could capitalize on Americans’ economic anxieties over globalism with promises to restore manufacturing jobs and protect blue-collar workers from what Trump characterized as a threat from immigrant labor.
The second major aspect of the speech, the attack on Clinton, mixed controversies in her career and serious questions about her record with allegations that came largely from a book, “Clinton Cash,” which chronicled various scandals in her career but draws some conclusions that go beyond the available evidence.
The unifying theme was the allegation that Clinton has personally benefited from trade deals that have hurt the American economy.
“We got here because we switched from a policy of Americanism — focusing on what’s good for America’s middle class — to a policy of globalism, focusing on how to make money for large corporations who can move their wealth and workers to foreign countries all to the detriment of the American worker and the American economy,” Trump said, reading from a teleprompter in one of his New York properties.
Trump’s accusations drew on Clinton’s years in the public eye, and he made broader assertions about politics and policy as well.
Among Trump’s falsehoods: the U.S. is the highest taxed country in the world; he opposed the war in Iraq before it started; the trade deficit with China increased 40 percent under Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state; and America has no system for vetting refugees.
Among the unsubstantiated allegations: the private server Clinton used for email could have been hacked by agents of other countries who could have found dirty laundry and subjected her to blackmail; Clinton made money as a direct result of running the State Department; Clinton is lying about her opposition to a Pacific Rim trade agreement.
Among the facts: Clinton falsely recounted landing in Bosnia under sniper fire; Clinton has been paid millions in speaking fees by Wall Street and has not released the transcripts of those speeches; the Clinton Foundation took millions of dollars from oppressive regimes such as Saudi Arabia that treat women and gays harshly.
Trump aimed at multiple audiences in the speech. He tried to reassure core Republican leaders and donors that he can deliver a disciplined attack on Clinton and highlight the economic message that propelled his success in the primaries. He tried to court independents who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Democratic candidacy by calling out the “rigged” system that benefits elites and corporate interests.
Trump wanted to win over mainstream general election voters who care about security and “jobs, jobs, jobs,” but may be turned off by some of his more inflammatory statements. For them, he softened some of his sharpest rhetoric and spoke frequently about helping African-Americans, protecting gays and rebuilding inner cities.
Only a week ago, Trump renewed his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country and delivered a speech that used a broad brush in blaming them for not reporting terrorist threats within their community. Wednesday’s speech notably cast Muslims in a different light, as vulnerable to Islamic State extremists.
“ISIS also threatens peaceful Muslims across the Middle East and peaceful Muslims across the world, who have been terribly victimized by horrible brutality — and who only want to raise their kids in peace and safety,” Trump said, using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group.
The speech came two days after Trump fired his campaign manager and reported meager fundraising totals that have called into question his ability to compete with Clinton’s well-funded and sophisticated operation. His campaign reported having just $1.3 million in cash on hand at the end of last month, compared with Clinton’s $42 million.