Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took a veiled shot at Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s health and stamina during the first presidential debate Monday, saying he had been out in the African-American community while she was at home.
Trump made the remark on the heels of trips to Detroit and Philadelphia in recent weeks, which he cited, adding that Democratic politicians who control the cities have let them down. He then took brief aim at her three-day absence from the campaign trail, which happened after she had a medical episode while attending a memorial commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
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“The African-American community has been let down by our politicians. They talk good around election time, like right now, and after the election, they said ‘see you later. I’ll see you in four years,'” Trump said. “The African-American community — look, the community within the inner cities has been so badly treated. They’ve been abused and used in order to get votes by Democrat politicians because that’s what it is. They’ve controlled these communities for up to 100 years unbroken.”
“And I will tell you, you look at the inner cities. I just left Detroit and I just left Philadelphia and I just, you know, I’ve been all over the place,” Trump said. “You decided to stay home, and that’s okay. But I will tell you, I’ve been all over, and I’ve met some of the greatest people I’ll ever meet within these communities, and they are very, very upset with what their politicians have told them and what their politicians have done.”
Clinton responded by smiling and pointing out that while she was home recovering, she was studying up for the debate, which Trump declined to respond to.
“I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate, and yes I did,” Clinton said. “And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president, and I think that’s a good thing.”
