RALEIGH, N.C. – The path to the White House veers through Raleigh Wednesday as Hillary Clinton addresses her economic vision in a rally at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
Clinton’s appearance at the Exposition Center comes at a time of ferocious rhetoric between Clinton and Donald Trump.
Trump, just Wednesday, morning, held a news conference in New York to blast Clinton, calling her a “world-class liar” who lacks the judgment to be president.
“She believes she’s entitled to the office,” Trump said.
Trump said his policies would rebuild the American economy and he said infrastructure across the country was in need of repair.
“I know these problems can all be fixed but not by Hillary Clinton – only by me,” he said.
He also accused Clinton of being a part of a political class that was disconnected from Americans and their needs.
“We’re never going to be able to fix a rigged system by counting on the same people who rigged it in the first place,” he said.
Specifically, he targeted “disastrous trade deals” that he said have cost Americans jobs and date back to the time the Clintons were in the White House. President Bill Clinton signed NAFTA in 1993 and it took effect in 1994, creating the world’s largest free-trade zone.
Trump’s comments Wednesday came a day after an aggressive speecy by Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in Ohio in which she slammed Trump’s economic efforts.
“He’s written a lot of books about business,” Clinton said. “They all seem to end at Chapter 11.”
She also tore into his economic plans, saying, “He calls himself the king of debt. And his tax plan sure lives up to that name.”
Trump shot back in an interview aired Wednesday on CBS This Morning.
“I’m the kind of debt – I’m great with debt,” he said. “I like debt for me. I don’t like debt for the country.”
He said his plans would help jumpstart the American economy and bring back money and jobs that have flowed overseas.
“We’re going to create an absolutely unbelievable country,” he said of his economic plans. “We are going to put people back to work again.”
Trump also addressed reports that Clinton’s campaign is much more flush with cash than his. The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump entered June with just $1.3 million in the bank, while Clinton had $42 million.
But Trump suggested that war chest meant Clinton would be beholden to her donors.
“Every time she’s raising money she is making deals,” Trump told CBS.
“All of the money she is raising, that’s blood money. That’s blood money.”
In Raleigh, doors open at 12:30 p.m. for the 2:30 p.m. Clinton event.
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is seeking to be the first woman elected president.
Clinton most recently appeared in in Raleigh in March, when she made a surprise campaign stop at a Raleigh polling place.
Clinton is looking to accomplish what her husband, Bill, did not do in the general election, and that is carry North Carolina. Bill Clinton lost North Carolina to President George H.W. Bush in 1992 and to GOP nominee Bob Dole in 1996 but still won both elections.
Trump visited North Carolina last week. Trump ripped U.S. immigration policy in his campaign rally in Greensboro.
A poll released by Public Policy Polling on May 25 had Trump leading Clinton 43 percent to 41 percent in North Carolina. The margin of error was 3.2 percent.
Trump is scheduled to speak Wednesday morning in New York at 10:30 a.m. at his Trump SoHo hotel.
The Republican Convention is July 18-21 in Cleveland. The Democratic Convention is July 25-28 in Philadelphia.
North Carolina Republican leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, will hold a news conference Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. to discuss their efforts to turn around the North Carolina economy.
