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| (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP) |
BALTIMORE — Seeking to turn criticism of some of his supporters into a major election issue, Donald Trump spent Monday focusing more on Hillary Clinton 's "basket of deplorables" remark than on his rival's health situation.
"She divides people into baskets, as though they were objects, not human beings," Trump said at a National Guard convention in Baltimore. "Hillary Clinton spoke with hatred and derision for the people who make this country run."
Trump said Clinton — "an insider supported by powerful insiders attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power" — insulted all Americans when she said that half of his supporters could be put in a "basket of deplorables" that includes those who are "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it."
Devoting most of his speech to an attack on his opponent, Trump said Clinton exhibited "total disrespect for the people of our country."
Clinton's criticisms — the subject of a new Trump television ad — came the same weekend the Democratic nominee's health also became a focus of the campaign. On Sunday, Clinton's doctor said the candidate had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday and that she had left a 9/11 memorial service early after becoming "overheated and dehydrated." Clinton canceled a West Coast campaign trip scheduled to begin Monday because of her illness.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned Clinton's "stamina" and raised questions about her health, did not mention the episode during his remarks to the National Guard Association of the United States .
Asked about it earlier in the day, Trump told Fox & Friends that "I hope she gets well soon," and also referenced a coughing fit last week. "I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail, and we'll be seeing her at the debate," he said.
Trump told Fox that health is "an issue," and that he would soon be releasing records from a physical. The Clinton campaign also plans to release more medical records, they said Monday.
Trump echoed his attacks on Clinton during a later rally in Asheville, N.C., where there were reports of angry confrontations between Trump supporters and protesters. CNN reported a man was hit and choked.
Trump told supporters that Clinton is running "a hate-filled and negative campaign," without mentioning the health issue. Trump also brought a parade of backers to the stage in Asheville to denounce Clinton's "deplorable" comments, seeking to extend a furor that began Friday night.
During a fundraiser, Clinton said: "You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”
Over the weekend, Clinton said it was wrong to say "half" of Trump's voters are deplorable, but she noted that too many of his supporters and some of his aides hold bigoted or white supremacist views. She noted that Trump himself has attacked a judge's "Mexican heritage," fought with a Muslim couple who lost a son in the Iraq war, and questioned whether President Obama , the nation's first black president, was born in the United States.
"It's deplorable that Trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices," Clinton said, adding that "I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign."
Polls indicate that a majority of Trump's supporters agree with his proposed ban on Muslim entry into the United States and believe that Obama is a Muslim who was not born in the United States.
Clinton also noted that, as she did in her initial comments, "many of Trump's supporters are hard-working Americans who just don’t feel like the economy or our political system are working for them," and she wants to address their concerns.
Trump told the National Guard that people who want to protect the border, stop terrorism, and support the police are not racists, anti-Islam, or xenophobes, but rather "honest citizens" who are seeking "government reform."
Trump also demanded an apology from Clinton, but isn't likely to get one.
Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon, reacting to Trump's latest remarks, told CNN that Clinton had already expressed regret for referring to "half" of her rival's supporters, but "the larger point of what she said on Friday remains true and it is something we do not apologize for."
The Trump forces see Clinton's comment as a pivotal moment in the campaign, one that plays into Trump's argument that Clinton represents a failed political establishment.
Seeking to capitalize, a new Trump television ad tells viewers than when Clinton talks about "deplorables," she is referring to "people like you ... you ... and you."
The ad will air in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, the campaign said.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the comment "serves as a call to action for the tens of millions of hard working Americans she viciously demonized — to stand united against the Clinton-led rigged Washington system."
Also during his speech, Trump praised the National Guard's work, from disaster response in the United States to deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Saluting the Guard a day after the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Trump promised members he would be their "champion" if elected.
"Our debt to you is eternal," Trump said.
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