Hillary follows up strong debate performance with Raleigh victory speech
‘We don’t need to build walls, we need to build bridges’
Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail today in Raleigh, NC after combatting Donald Trump in their first presidential debate last night.
A crowd of around 1,400 gathered this morning at the Wake Technical Community College gym as the Democratic nominee declared a debate victory over Trump and reinforced her message that she is the most qualified candidate. “Did anybody see that debate last night?” Clinton began enthusiastically. “One down, two to go!”
Hillary followed up on many of the attacks she made against Trump during the debate at her event in Raleigh. She wasted no time continuing to question if he actually pays his fair share of taxes while also further questioning the business practices of The Trump Organization.
“Last night he essentially bragged about gaming the system and not paying his taxes,” she said. “This is a man who calls our military a disaster, but he probably hasn’t paid a penny to support them, our schools, and our small businesses!”
Hillary also openly questioned his lack of concern for small businesses and employees. One interesting moment came when she used her debate guest Mark Cuban’s profit sharing initiative (which she claims made over 300 of Cuban’s employees millionaires overnight) to demonstrate how Trump can better treat his workers. “Mark Cuban is an actual billionaire by the way” she smirked to raucous applause from the crowd.
Among the thousands of students who attended the event, many say the former Secretary of State scored major points with them in last night’s debate by reaffirming her commitment to students. Clinton reiterated her statements last night, saying “It will be my goal to end our ridiculous student debt problem and make college affordable for everybody!” while also taking the opportunity to assert Trump lacks a similar plan.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about what happened in Charlotte and Tulsa,” Clinton continued, remarking on the ongoing racial tension and the problem of police brutality. “We have to better train our police and foster a better relationship with the communities they serve.” She also pleaded to her supporters on the topic of gun control and limiting the availability of firearms to criminals.
The Democratic presidential nominee made good use of timing by making a quick return to the battleground state of North Carolina, where she hopes to capitalize on the recent momentum she’s gained against Trump in the traditionally red Tar Heel State.
Recent poll numbers show they are basically tied among likely voters at this point in the election. “Think about the everything that’s at stake in this election here in North Carolina,” she told the crowd. “The very wrong, very mean spirited legislature that is House Bill 2 has hurt your state…. And I would also argue it’s unconstitutional!”
Commonly called the Bathroom law; the GOP-introduced legislation Clinton is referring to has cost North Carolina millions of dollars in revenue, with organizations such as the NCAA and ACC removing events from the state in protest of what many see as discriminatory legislation.
Former NC Governor Jim Hunt also began his remarks by asking the crowd: “So who saw that debate last night? Who won?” and was met with an overwhelming chant of “Hillary! Hillary!” that encompassed the auditorium. “I’ve known Hillary for a very long time and as last night shows, I’ve always knew her as a fighter!”
Last night’s debate was of course a heavily discussed topic throughout the event, though Clinton’s supporters gave varied answers on what her strongest point was.
Local consultant Marnie Priest called Hillary’s performance a “slam-dunk”, explaining she covered her points more thoroughly than Trump and kept her composure better.
“I think the best moment was when she told him to pay his federal income taxes,” Priest added.
Other prominent speakers included Mayor of Raleigh Nancy McFarlane, NC Representative and Senate candidate Deborah Ross, and NC State Senator Dan Bleu.
Additional reporting by Marquise Gorham.