Clinton Campaign Slams Trump For Painting A ‘Dark Picture’ Of America

Just hours after Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, the Hillary Clinton campaign slammed what it called “dark picture” of the country that Trump had painted during his speech. In his over an hour long speech, the New York billionaire spoke about Clinton’s legacy of “death, destruction, terrorism and weakness” as the secretary of state and highlighted perceived failings of President Barack Obama’s administration.

“Tonight, Donald Trump painted a dark picture of an America in decline. And his answer — more fear, more division, more anger, more hate — was yet another reminder that he is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be President of the United States,” the Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said in a statement. “He offered no real solutions to help working families get ahead or to keep our country safe, just more prejudice and paranoia. America is better than this. America is better than Donald Trump.”

Now attention turns to the Democratic party, which will hold its convention in Philadelphia next week. Because the Clinton campaign is a traditional one, run by experienced political operatives, the expectations for the convention are higher than those faced by Trump. The DNC cannot get away with a half-empty hall, a line-up of low profile speakers, a disorganized schedule and a raucous display of disunity.

Clinton is expected to take back the spotlight Friday by announcing her pick for vice president.

In his 75-minute speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Thursday night, Trump — who has never held elected office — laid out the case against Clinton, and portrayed himself as an alternative to traditional politicians. The speech, which largely centred on law and order, also blamed Obama for the rise in homicides in the U.S. last year.

“I have a message to every last person threatening the peace on our streets and the safety of our police: When I take the oath of office next year, I will restore law and order to our country,” Trump said. “I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20, 2017, safety will be restored.”

Trump also vowed to be the voice of the “forgotten men and women” of the country.

“Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance,” Trump said. “But his supporters will join our movement, because we will fix his biggest issue: trade. Millions of Democrats will join our movement, because we are going to fix the system so it works for all Americans.”

While Trump’s speech was immediately condemned by Democrats — and even some Republicans — his supporters who attended the convention had a very different opinion.

“I thought it was fabulous,” Washington state GOP chairman Susan Hutchison, who earlier called Ted Cruz a “traitor to the party” for not endorsing Trump, reportedly said. “It’s high time we brought in somebody who has a positive attitude about all people.”