5 takeaways from Donald Trump's latest Arizona visit
Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, visited Prescott Valley on Tuesday, his sixth campaign trip to Arizona. Here are some highlights from his hourlong speech.
1. Hellish nights with Hillary
Trump mentioned a recent speech by former President Bill Clinton, husband of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in which he called the Affordable Care Act the “craziest thing in the world.”
The former president was discussing how small-business owners and individuals of a modest income don’t qualify for insurance subsidies and face rising premiums. He did not dismiss the program as a whole.
Still, Trump imagined his words might have caused domestic strife.
“I bet he went through hell last night, can you imagine?” Trump said.
Trump then looked directly at the crowd.
“Honestly,” he said, “there have been many nights when he has gone through hell with Hillary.”
LIVE BLOG: How Trump's visit unfolded Tuesday
2. Trump addresses his tax returns
Trump said Hillary Clinton criticized his use of tax laws for his financial benefit but did not work to change those laws when she served as a U.S. senator.
Though he was not specific, Trump was referencing a New York Times story that revealed he had written-down more than $900 million in losses. Under the tax code, according to the Times, Trump could have legally sheltered equivalent earnings from income tax for as long as 18 years.
Trump said Clinton did not work to change the tax laws because her "donors and contributors" used the same allowances for operating losses.
"I know all of their names, and I know who they are," Trump said.
Trump mentioned two Democratic Party supporters who had losses on par with his. He said that George Soros lost $1.5 billion and that Warren Buffet lost $873 million.
"Ask them, did they write off those losses?" Trump said.
3. Trump’s second job
Trump bemoaned the state of the U.S. economy, which he said has seen massive factory closings since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal signed by then-President Bill Clinton.
Trump promised that companies such as Apple would start making products in the United States again if he is elected.
One job used to provide enough money for a household, Trump said, but now people need two jobs to survive, having to work doubly hard.
Trump told the crowd that he was also working hard.
“If you think this isn’t work, this is work,” he said.
“But I see the end, I see the result and the result is, we are going to win on Nov. 8, and we’re going to make American great again.”
Towards the end of his speech, Trump prodded supporters to vote, suggesting his work would be wasted if he didn’t become president.
4. Lock her up
At least twice, Trump mentioned the controversy over Clinton's emails . Trump argued that Clinton deleted 30,000 emails after receiving a subpoena. Clinton’s camp has maintained those emails were personal in nature.
The FBI concluded that her use of a private email server was sloppy, but not criminal.
Trump said Clinton’s actions were worse than those that resulted in President Richard Nixon resigning from office.
“It’s worse than Watergate,” Trump said. “The investigation of Hillary Clinton was rigged. It’s a sham.
“And it’s one of the saddest things that I have ever seen take place in our country and now she’s running for president of the United States. We’ve become a banana republic.”
Trump called Clinton the “ringleader of a criminal enterprise.”
5. What (not in a negative way) do you have to lose?
Trump repeated his familiar plea to African-Americans and Latinos living in inner cities, arguing that Democrats had been in charge of urban areas for decades and nothing had changed. He ended with the refrain: “What the hell do you have to lose?”
He then expanded the reach, saying the same argument could be made to anyone in the United States. “To everyone in the country, I can almost say the same thing,” Trump said.
Trump mentioned the national debt, a depleted military and the treatment of veterans.
“I say to you folks, too,” Trump said, “I don’t want to be negative, (but) what the hell do you have to lose?”