Donald Trump speaks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars conference at a campaign event in Charlotte, N.C., on July 26, 2016. (Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

CHARLOTTE — Addressing one of the nation’s largest veterans groups, Donald Trump sharply criticized rival Hillary Clinton as a politician who doesn’t care about the safety of American troops and would do no better as president.

Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention here, Trump accused Clinton and other Washington politicians of betraying a “sacred commitment” to care for the men and women who have put their lives on the line protecting the U.S.

“We know how she takes care of the veterans,” Trump declared, referring to his rival as “Crooked Hillary Clinton.” “Just look at her invasion of Libya and her handling of Benghazi — a disaster. Look at her handling of emails, which put America’s entire national security at risk.”

At that statement, some audience members suddenly interrupted Trump’s speech with a chant that has taken hold at his rallies in recent weeks: “Lock her up! Lock her up!”

It was a stark difference from Monday, when Clinton addressed the group and received polite applause for a half-hour speech that repeatedly criticized Trump’s policies and statements without mentioning him by name.

At the podium Tuesday, Trump took note of the audience’s anti-Clinton chants. “And to think she was here yesterday,” he said, looking away from his teleprompter. “I guess she didn’t do very well.”

The GOP nominee also accused Clinton of backing foreign policies that have weakened America’s standing in the world and opened the door to threats such as ISIS. And he slammed Democrats for not mentioning the terrorism threat during the first day of the Democratic National Convention Monday.

“You didn’t hear it,” Trump said. “They don’t want to talk about it because in a very true way, they really established ISIS because of weakness. The people in this room know better than anybody else … what I mean by weakness.”

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, gestures to the crowd as VFW Commander-in-Chief John A. Biedrzycki Jr. looks on after she addressed the 117th annual VFW National Convention at the Charlotte Convention center on July 25, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer/TNS via Getty Images)

Echoing a proposal he made earlier this month, Trump promised to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs, eliminate “waste and corruption” and provide the best medical care possible for veterans. He said care for veterans would be one of his top priorities, and he pledged to establish a hotline at the White House for veterans to report problems with their treatment.

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The celebrity businessman declared he would work so hard on veterans issues and devote such long hours to the cause that he would likely no longer have time to use Twitter late at night — when he is known to be most active on social media.

“We are going to take care of our veterans like they have never been taken care of before,” Trump declared.

Taking aim at Clinton again, Trump said the system can’t be fixed by the same “failed politicians of the past” who have been “all talk no action.” “We can’t fix a rigged system by electing the people who rigged it in the first place,” he said.

Amid criticism from Republicans that he’s focusing too much on the negative, Trump notably ended his remarks on a positive note, arguing that the country could take lessons from the troops who rise above racial and economic lines to work together.

“Let them be our guide,” Trump declared. “If we do this, we will truly, absolutely, 100 percent make America great again — greater than ever, ever, ever before.”