Saying that Donald Trump has once again “crossed the line” and demonstrated he’s unfit to be president, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday made a naked appeal to Republicans, urging them to reject the billionaire businessman and cross the aisle in November.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Mrs. Clinton said her campaign will welcome any Republicans who are fed up with Mr. Trump and, for whatever reason, feel they can no longer support his candidacy.
“The stakes have never been higher. I am humbled and moved by the Republicans who are willing to stand up and say Donald Trump doesn’t represent their values, not only as Republicans but as Americans,” the Democratic White House hopeful said. “I have to tell you, I feel that same sense of responsibility. We may not agree on everything, but this is not a normal election. And I will work hard for the next three months to earn the support of anyone willing to put our country first.”
Mrs. Clinton also directly addressed Mr. Trump’s Tuesday comments about the Second Amendment, interpreted by some as a possible call to violence against the former first lady.
Mr. Trump was speaking about Mrs. Clinton’s potential Supreme Court selections, should she become president, and said they’ll work to eradicate the right to bear arms.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,” Mr. Trump said, then added, “Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.”
The Clinton campaign immediately condemned those comments, but Mrs. Clinton herself had not addressed them until Wednesday’s rally.
“Words matter, my friends,” she said. “And if you are running to be president, or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences. Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line. His casual cruelty to a Gold Star family. His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons. And now has casual inciting of violence. Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States.”
Mr. Trump has vehemently denied he was inciting violence and only meant that gun-rights activists must unite to stop Mrs. Clinton from becoming president.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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