Donald Trump tried to change the subject on Saturday, unveiling a plan to combat opioid addiction in the US while also challenging his Democratic presidential competitor to take a drug test before their next debate. Yet he couldn't completely drop the subject of sex, or let go of the idea of a conspiracy to take the election from him.
The Republican presidential nominee rallied in front of boisterous crowds in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and in Bangor, Maine.
The New England events came a day after two more women came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against the billionaire, which Trump has denied with vigor. He's linked the stream of allegations to a theory the presidential race is being tilted by the media in favour of Hillary Clinton.
"The election is being rigged by the corrupt media pushing completely false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect her president," Trump said in Portsmouth.
Alluding to one of the allegations, in which an accuser says he groped her for a period of about 15 minutes, Trump sought to refute the claim on the grounds of common sense: "Fifteen minutes? With the ladies in this place, it'd be one second and then it'd be, 'Smack,'" Trump said before a crowd of about 5,000 people at a car dealership.
"It's a rigged election because you have phony people coming up with phony allegations with no evidence whatsoever," Trump said. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Saturday pushed back against Trump's suggestions about the U.S. electoral process. Ryan is "fully confident" the election will be carried out with integrity, his spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement.
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement "participation in the system -and particularly voting -should be encouraged, not dismissed or undermined because a candidate is afraid he's going to lose."
Trump has been on the defensive, and dropping in the polls, since the Washington Post on October 7 reported on a recording of the real-estate developer talking in 2005 about being able to "do anything" to women because of his fame. Figures released on Saturday show he's also trailing Clinton in fund-raising by a wide margin.
Trump lobbied for Clinton to take a drug test before the third and final presidential debate, which is set for October 19 in Las Vegas. "I don't know what's going on with her," he said. "At the beginning of the last debate, she was all pumped up. Then at the end: 'Huh.' She could barely reach her car." bloomberg
Accompanied by Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of his closest advisers, Trump appeared to be more focused on policy on Saturday than at some campaign events in recent days.
Drug Addiction
He spoke in New Hampshire about a plan he said would combat the growing epidemic of prescription-drug addiction in the U.S.
Among other things, Trump said securing the U.S.-Mexico border as well as implementing U.S. postal laws would make it more difficult for drug cartels to smuggle illegal substances into the U.S.
He also said that he would instruct officials at the Food and Drug Administration to speed up the approval process for abuse-deterring drugs.
In Bangor, Trump mostly avoided discussing the sexual-harassment allegations that have piled up in the past week. "They take these lies and they put 'em on the front pages," he said.
Trump ended the evening by speaking to the Republican Hindu Coalition in Edison, New Jersey. He appeared on-stage in between Bollywood dancing acts to an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand that packed into a convention centre.
"I love Hindu and I love India," Trump said. He then vowed to be a partner for India, particularly its Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump sought to parallel his policies to Modi's policies, particularly on lowering taxes and lessening regulations. "When I'm president, we'll stand shoulder to shoulder with India."
Trump also reiterated his opposition to the Iran deal, which many Hindu-Americans also oppose, and vowed to combat terrorism in the Middle East. He is headed to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will spend the night and prepare for Wednesday's third and final debate in Las Vegas.
Bloomberg
