KENANSVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – Speaking to a rally in rural Duplin County, Trump pledged to take care of veterans and rebuild the military.
“It’s so depleted, with the equipment they’re getting, with all of the problems they have,” Trump said. “We are going to rebuild our military and we’re going to take care of our vets.”
Trump also touched on other pieces of his platform: appointing conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, protecting the Second Amendment, ending common core and attacking Obamacare.
“We have to repeal, and we have to replace, Obamacare,” Trump said. “It’s a disaster.”
And, echoing remarks he made earlier in the day at a rally in High Point, Trump hammered on the nation’s trade deals, promising to renegotiate them on more favorable terms.
“We have some of the worst trade deals ever made, headed by NAFTA,” he said. “Other contriess have ripped us like you’ve never seen before. Vast parcels of land across our country, including this state, are empty with fallen buildings.”
He added, “I believe in free trade, but we’re going to make great deals instead of horrible deals.”
The effect of his policies, he said, would be to make the nation “so rich again.”
“We have a country that’s essentially a debtor nation right now,” he said.
And he criticized the running of America’s inner cities, something he said has largely been done by Democrats for decades.
“Places like Afghanistan are safer than our inner cities,” he said.
Also Tuesday, the Clinton campaign pointed to criticism of Trump by a number of experienced military commanders, including retired Col. Earl Atkinson, former deputy commander of Delta Force.
“Donald Trump is erratic and reckless, and frankly, I’m frightened to think of what would happen with regard to the safety of our men and women who are out there on the front lines defending our freedom if he were to become commander-in-chief,” Atkinson said in a release. “I stand with the people of North Carolina in declaring that Trump’s lack of respect for American soldiers and veterans is not only worrisome and disgraceful – it is completely out of sync with what most North Carolinians believe. In fact, it is outright contrary to our values.”
