Politics
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks with members of the media at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY on September 19, 2016.
After a weekend of attacks struck Manhattan, New Jersey, and Minnesota, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traded blows on who is capable of fighting terrorism at home and abroad.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac of the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York Monday morning, the Democratic presidential candidate said her opponent's bombastic language has aided our enemies.
"We know that Donald Trump's comments have been used online for recruitment of terrorists. We've heard that from former CIA director Michael Hayden, who made it a very clear point when he said Donald Trump is being used as a 'recruiting sergeant' for the terrorists," Clinton said. "The kinds of rhetoric and language that Mr. Trump has used is giving aid and comfort to our adversaries."
Trump fired back in a statement, saying we have to "get tough fast" to make sure attacks like the bombings on the East Coast and the mass stabbing at a Minnesota mall don't "become the new normal."
"Today, Hillary Clinton showed again that she will say anything - and blame anyone - to shift attention away from the weakness she showed as Secretary of State," Trump said in the statement. "The Obama-Clinton doctrine of not taking ISIS seriously enough has emboldened terrorists all over the world. They are hoping and praying that Hillary Clinton becomes President so that they can continue their savagery and murder."
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida on September 19, 2016.
Clinton outlined how she has a specific plan to defeat ISIS abroad and to prevent attacks at home - something she said her opponent does not.
"You don't hear a plan from him. He keeps saying he has a secret plan. Well, the secret is he has no plan," Clinton said. "Let's focus on what we really can do. What I've laid out is a path forward that will keep us safer, protect our country, and go after the terrorists to finally destroy them."
Blaming national insecurity on the Obama Administration's immigration policies, Trump mentioned his proposal of "extreme vetting" of immigrants trying to enter the US.
"When I am President, terrorists like today's suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings, Ahmad Khan Rahami, and yesterday's knife-wielding ISIS sympathizer in Minnesota, Dahir Adan, will be stopped," Trump said in the statement. "We will not look the other way. We will not allow political correctness and soft-on-terror, soft-on-crime policies to threaten our security and our lives."
The two will finally come face-to-face on the issue during the first presidential debate on September 26, where "Securing America" is one of the three topics on the agenda.