Speech: Donald Trump Offers Himself as Champion of the ‘Forgotten’, anti-Globali

[MikeWB]

In Speech Draft, Donald Trump Offers Himself as Champion of the 'Forgotten'

By ALEXANDER BURNS and MAGGIE HABERMANJULY 21, 2016

CLEVELAND — Donald J. Trump plans to use his prime time acceptance speech on Thursday night to denounce "15 years of wars in the Middle East" and attack politicians in both parties for failing to stand up for blue-collar Americans, according to a draft of his remarks.

In the prepared text, Mr. Trump casts his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as an agent of international elites who has erred in her judgment on foreign and economic policy. He repeats a favorite description of himself, as a "law-and-order candidate," and pays tribute to the families of crime victims hurt by illegal immigrants.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump confirmed that the text represented a draft of his speech, but would not confirm if it was the most current iteration of the address. After 6 p.m., the Trump campaign released excerpts from the address, in which Mr. Trump promises to cut taxes and regulation and redirect foreign policy to ensure that other countries "treat America with respect."

In the sections released by the campaign, Mr. Trump levels pointed criticism at Mrs. Clinton's "bad instincts" on policy.

But in the longer draft, Mr. Trump also directs his attacks more broadly, assailing policies that have been favored by both Democrats and Republicans — including his own running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana.

He paints a dire picture of a country in flames and a world at war, and blames establishment leaders in Washington.

Without naming George W. Bush as a perpetrator, Mr. Trump blames more than a decade of foreign adventurism for damaging American national security.

"Iraq is in chaos," Mr. Trump says, in the prepared text. "Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West. After 15 years of wars in the Middle East, after trillions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost, the situation is worse than it has ever been before."

He continues: "This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction and weakness."

In the version obtained from a person with access to the speech, Mr. Trump does not soften his tone or turn away from the hard-line policy underpinnings of his campaign.

On the contrary, he describes ordinary Americans as victimized by immigrants, international companies and feckless political leaders, and presents himself as the champion of the "forgotten men and women of our country."

Listing the names of people with family members slain by people who entered the country illegally, Mr. Trump asks, "Where was sanctuary for all the other Americans who have been so brutally murdered, and who have suffered so horribly?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/us/politics/donald-trump-rnc-speech.html