Trump courts core conservatives, Clinton talks security
AFP
Republican Donald Trump delivered a call to arms for US conservatives, urging them to vote en masse on Election Day to defeat White House rival Hillary Clinton, reports AFP.
The Democratic former secretary of state meanwhile met in New York with a bipartisan panel of experts to discuss issues of terrorism and national security that the next president will likely face. Both candidates are seeking to appear presidential and fire up their supporters as the November 8 election day approaches.
Trump was the star at a Washington gathering of grassroots activists, conservative stalwart lawmakers, and leaders in the anti-abortion and religious freedom movements.
He sought to lock up a commitment from the key evangelical and social conservative voting bloc, four years after millions of them stayed home instead of supporting Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
In a Trump administration, our Christian heritage will be cherished, protected, defended like youve never seen before, Trump said to a rousing ovation.
You have to get out and vote on November 8. You didnt vote four years ago, he admonished the crowd. You didnt vote.
Trumps attendance at the Values Voter Summit highlights how conservatives want social issues like abortion discussed in the presidential campaign. Trump is under pressure to convince these activists of his own conservative values.
Trump however largely steered clear of the sensitive issue of abortion, perhaps realizing that he also needs to court moderate and independent voters as he trails Clinton in most polls. In that vein, his campaign has taken steps to distance the Republican nominee from his years-long propagation of the birther conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the United States.
He believes President Obama was born here... He was born in Hawaii, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN.
Her comments came a day after Trump surrogate and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani made similar statements. Trump himself has so far refused to clearly acknowledge the legitimacy of Obamas presidency.
The real estate magnate was the most prominent early proponent of a theory that Obama, the nations first black president, was not born in the United States and therefore, under the US Constitution, ineligible to be commander in chief.
