Donald Trump: “I Will Be Your Fighter”

Last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump laid out his economic plan, and on Monday he told the world how he plans to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.

On Tuesday, the completed “the pivot” with a speech about how he intends to combat crime and lawlessness. And he did it in Milwaukee, a city that has been plagued with violence following the officer-involved shooting death of an armed African-American man.

“The violence, riots and destruction that have taken place in Milwaukee are an assault on the right of all citizens to live in security and peace,” he said. “Law and order must be restored. It must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially the sake of those living in the affected communities.

“The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods. It is their jobs, their homes, their schools and communities which will suffer as a result. There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor, and will never be accepted in a Trump Administration.

“The narrative that has been pushed aggressively for years now by our current administration, and pushed by my opponent Hillary Clinton, is a false one. The problem in our poorest communities is not that there are too many police; the problem is that there are not enough police. More law enforcement, more community engagement, more effective policing is what our country needs.

“Just like Hillary Clinton is against the miners, she is against the police. You know it, and I know it.”

He urged African-American voters to vote for him in November, particularly if they are “struggling” and want “a different future,” saying it was time for America to “address some honest and very difficult truths.” The Democratic Party, he added, has “failed and betrayed the African-American community” with policies on crime, education and the economy that only produce “more crime, more broken homes and more poverty.”

Trump then laid out some facts specific to Milwaukee, under Democratic leadership:

• Last year, homicide increased by 69 percent, plus another 634 victims of non-fatal shootings.
• Nearly half of the homicide victims were 18 to 29 years old.
• The poverty rate is nearly double the national average.
• Almost four in 10 African-American men in Milwaukee between the ages of 25-54 do not have a job.
• Nearly four in 10 single mother households are living in poverty.
• Fifty-five of the city’s public schools have received failing grades, despite a current funding level of $10,000 per student.
• The graduation rate is just 60 percent.
• One in five manufacturing jobs has disappeared since opening our markets to China.

“To every voter in Milwaukee, to every voter living in every inner city, or every forgotten stretch of our society, I am running to offer you a better future,” he said. “The Democratic Party has taken the votes of African-Americans for granted. They’ve just assumed they’ll get your support and done nothing in return for it. It’s time to give the Democrats some competition for these votes, and it’s time to rebuild the inner cities of America—and to reject the failed leadership of a rigged political system.”

Trump said he has been running throughout the campaign against that rigged system, and succeeded, whereas Clinton is the “personification of special interest corruption.” He said he has been running to listen to “the quiet voices in our society, not the loudest demonstrators,” and to advance an agenda of jobs, safety, opportunity, and fair and equal representation in government.

“We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes, not as individual human beings worthy of a better future,” he said. “She doesn’t care at all about the hurting people of this country, or the suffering she has caused them. The African-American community has been taken for granted for decades by the Democratic Party. It’s time to break with the failures of the past—I want to offer Americans a new future.

“It is time for rule by the people, not rule by special interests. Every insider, getting rich off of our broken system, is throwing money at Hillary Clinton. The hedge fund managers, the Wall Street investors, the professional political class. It’s the powerful protecting the powerful. Insiders fighting for insiders.

“I am fighting for you.”

He then laid out a multi-point plan to bring hope to the inner cities of America. It includes:

• Immigration—”No community in this country has been hurt worse by Hillary Clinton’s immigration policies than the African-American community. Now she is proposing to print instant work permits for millions of illegal immigrants, taking jobs directly from low-income Americans. I will secure our border, protect our workers, and improve jobs and wages in your community. We will only invite people to join our country who share our tolerant values, who support our Constitution, and who love all of our people.”
• Trade—”I am going to renegotiate NAFTA, stand up to China, withdraw from the TPP, and protect every last American job.”
• Taxes—”I am going to give a massive tax cut to every worker and small business in this country, bring thousands of new companies and millions of new jobs onto our shores—and make it very difficult for our businesses to leave.”
• Regulatory Reform—”I am going to reform our regulations so jobs stay in America, and new businesses come to America to hire workers right here in Milwaukee. Every policy my opponent has sends jobs overseas. I am going to bring trillions in new wealth back to the United States.”
• Education—”It is time to have school choice, merit pay for teachers, and to end the tenure policies that hurt good teachers and reward bad teachers. We are going to put students and parents first. Hillary Clinton would rather deny opportunities to millions of young African-American children, just so she can curry favor with the education bureaucracy. I am going to allow charter schools to thrive, and help young kids get on the American ladder of success: a good education, and a good-paying job.”
• Crime—”I am going to support more police in our communities, appoint the best prosecutors and judges in the country, pursue strong enforcement of federal laws, and I am going to break up the gangs, the cartels and criminal syndicates terrorizing our neighborhoods. To every lawbreaker hurting innocent people in this country, I say: your free reign will soon come crashing to an end.”
• Healthcare—”We are going to get rid of Obamacare—which has caused soaring double-digit premium increases—and give choice to patients and consumers. Aetna, just today, announced they are dropping out—as are many of the major insurance companies.”
• Government Corruption—”I am going to restore honor to our government. We’ve seen the corruption of Hillary Clinton, the mass email deletions, the pay-for-play at the State Department, the profiteering, the favors given to foreign corporations and governments at your expense. We’ve seen a former Secretary of State lie to Congress about her illegal email scheme, risk innocent American lives, and bring dishonor onto our government.”

Trump, returning to his “I’m your fighter” message, said Clinton lacked the strength, stamina and good judgment to be the next President of the United States. He promised that every American will be “treated equally, protected equally and honored equally.”

“We will reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all of its forms, and seek a new future of security, prosperity and opportunity—a future built on our common culture and values as one American people,” he said. “I am asking for your vote so I can be your champion in the White House. We will once again be a country of law and order, and a country of great success.

“To every parent who dreams for their children, and to every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I’m with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”