Richmond (US), June 11

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under “criminal investigation”.

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

“You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be?” Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia yesterday.

This was Trump’s first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a “crooked Hillary” speech.

“There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people,” Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than $5,00,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between $1,00,000 and $2,50,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. “He made a contribution of $2,50,000 and all of a sudden he’s on this very important and vital board,” he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the “biggest debate” in the history and would be the “biggest voter turnout” in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. “Someday, people would call it a Trump wall,” he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

“Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using dumbest people,” he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas. “We are going to bring jobs back to America,” he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

“Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyone imagination,” he claimed.

“Polls are looking good in Virginia,” he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

“Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money,” he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

“I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at,” he said, referring to the allegations that he is a racist.

Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term “radical Islamic terrorism” because she does not want to offend Obama. “Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out,” he said.

“If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction,” not so many people would have been killed, he said. “We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... we are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win,” he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid USD five million to the Clinton Foundation. — PTI