Clinton revives Trump-women issue

  • 02/11/2016
Clinton revives Trump-women issue

With just a week to go and the race for the White House tightening, Hillary Clinton has unleashed a new offensive against Donald Trump, pushing the Republican's vulgar and sexist comments back to the forefront.

Trump meanwhile has tried to blend a quieter, presidential tone with his usual tough rhetoric, warning that a Clinton victory would "destroy American health care forever."

The White House contenders clashed from afar - Democrat Clinton in battleground Florida and Trump in Pennsylvania.

"For my entire life, I've been a woman," Clinton declared in battleground Florida. "And when I think about what we now know about Donald Trump and what he's been doing for 30 years, he sure has spent a lot of time demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting women."

For Trump, the day's first appearance marked a sharp shift from his standard brash tone as he delivered carefully scripted remarks focused on health care. He cautioned that Clinton's plan to strengthen "Obamacare" would lead to dire consequences, although he offered few specifics about his own plan.

"If we don't repeal and replace Obamacare, we will destroy American health care forever," Trump said.

He also promised, if elected, to call a special session of Congress to replace the law.

The latest events come after a roller-coaster campaign marked by self-created controversy and political missteps.

Clinton worked to ensure voters would not forget Trump's most damaging moments six days before the election.

Alicia Machado, a former beauty queen who Trump previously described as "Miss Piggy," introduced the Democratic nominee before her appearance in central Florida.

"He was cruel," Machado said of Trump's criticism of her weight. "For years afterward I was sick, fighting back eating disorders."

Meanwhile, both sides continued to spar over the recent revelation that FBI investigators are again probing Clinton's email practices, while a top aide to Hillary Clinton urged the FBI to disclose what it knows about any ties between Republican Donald Trump and Russia.

Meanwhile, a new poll showed Trump has surpassed Clinton a week before the Novemer 8 election.

According to The Washington Post and ABC News tracking poll, Trump has the support of 46 percent of voters compared with 45 percent for Clinton.

AP