Hillary Clinton took both implicit and explicit swipes at Donald Trump in a Philadelphia speech aimed at young voters Monday, labeling the GOP nominee a “showman” who incites “hatred and violence.”
“We have to stand up to this hate. We cannot let it go on,” Clinton said.
Her remarks, delivered at Temple University, were geared at energizing a demographic that is by no means a fan of Trump, but has been skeptical of Clinton as well.
“Politics can be discouraging. This election in particularly can be downright depressing at times. But it matters, it really does,” Clinton said. “Every election is important — from school board to state senate to President — but this time is different.”
She covered numerous policy proposals related to the issues of interest to young voters, including green energy, college affordability, work-family balance and criminal justice reform.
“Everywhere I go young people also share their concerns about the divisiveness and discrimination we see in America today,” Clinton said, while touching on the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration and the challenges LGBT people face.
“More than previous generations, you understand that all these challenges are intersecting and we must take them on together,” she said.
But she sought to paint her Republican opponent as not just caring about the details of policy, but inciting “hatred and violence like we’ve seen before in any campaign.”
She spoke of “hate speech being normalized, the dog whistles being out in the open.”
“Yet despite this, I remain confidence that America’s best days are ahead of us,” Clinton said, pointing to the “inspiring young people I meet every day.”
Clinton’s speech came as some polling has found that young people opposed to Trump have gravitated towards the two main third party candidates — the Green Party’s Jill Stein and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate — rather than to the Democratic nominee. Clinton also lagged with young voters in her primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). On Monday, Clinton acknowledged the struggles she’s faced with millennials.
“Even if you are totally opposed to Donald Trump, you may still have some questions about me — I get that and I want to do my best to answer those questions,” Clinton said. “I will never be the showman my opponent is, and you know what? That’s okay with me.”
