Clinton Dismisses Trump Mexico Trip: It Won’t ‘Make Up For A Year Of Insults’

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the American Legion's 98th Annual Convention at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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During her speech at the American Legion convention in Ohio on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton knocked Donald Trump for planning a last-minute trip to Mexico to meet with the country’s president.

Clinton focused much of her speech on American exceptionalism and the importance of the United States’ alliances, and she worked in a few digs at Trump.

“You don’t build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon. You do it by putting in the slow, hard, work of building relationships,” she said while talking about international diplomacy. “It’s more than a photo op. It takes consistency and reliability.”

“And it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours, and then flying home again,” she added. “That is not how it works.”

Clinton noted that Trump has criticized American exceptionalism, and she argued that he does not understand “America’s unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress.”

She also alluded to Trump’s hesitance to commit to supporting NATO allies in Europe.

“Threatening to walk away from our alliances, ignoring the importance that they still are to us is not only wrong, it’s dangerous,” Clinton said. “If I’m your president, our friends will always know, America will have your backs and we expect you to have ours.”

Clinton pitched herself to the audience at the American Legion Convention as the candidate with the right “temperament” to be president.

“Defending American exceptionalism should always be above politics. But this is not a normal election. The debates are not the normal disagreements between Republicans and Democrats. So, I hope you will listen carefully to what my opponent and I propose,” she said. “This election shouldn’t be about ideology. It’s not just about differences over policy, it truly is about who has the experience and the temperament to serve as president and commander in chief.”

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