Clinton leads Trump by 12 points in Reuters/Ipsos poll

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has alleged that the eight years of Obama-Clinton policies have sacrificed American safety and undermined its freedom and independence.

The Associated Press reported this week that more than half the people from outside government who met or spoke by telephone with Clinton in the first half of her term as secretary of state had given money – either personally or through companies or groups – to the foundation.

Trump, helped by a revamped campaign team, has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the foundation and said it should be shut down immediately.

Trump’s advisers have said they see Clinton’s new line of attack – which highlights Trump’s support from KKK members and other controversial white supremacist figures, among others – as a sign of desperation, and an attempt to distract from a week of bad news.

Is Hillary Clinton “riding out” the clock?

The Democratic presidential nominee, in an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, defended the Clinton Foundation, saying the charitable work it has conducted has changed lives for the better and is in keeping with American values.

In addition to the AP story, news broke this week that the FBI had uncovered almost 15,000 documents in the investigation of her private email server use that were not disclosed by her attorneys.

The Clintons have announced that if she is elected president, they will stop accepting foreign donations and corporate donations, and both Hillary and Bill Clinton will separate themselves from the organization.

The Trump campaign demanded an independent probe after conservative group Judicial Watch, which has targeted Clinton for years, released almost 15,000 emails sent from her private server.

A trove of emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state released Monday revealed how donors to the Clinton Foundation sought, and sometimes received, access to Clinton and her aides at the State Department.

Among black voters, Hillary holds a huge lead – 87 per cent of black voters said they will support her, while the NY billionaire only enjoys the support of 8 per cent.

Giving in to the persistent urging of party leaders, Trump has begun relying more on a TelePrompter, allowing for fewer troublesome off-the-cuff remarks.

Trump’s real message, she says, is “make America hate again”. And extensive reviews haven’t found any evidence-any evidence-that it affected a single action at the State Department.

The Republican nominee’s recent choice of Steven Bannion, a firebrand conservative, as his new campaign chief showed Trump was embracing the extremist white nationalist stances of the so-called “alt-right” movement, she said.

Several media editorial boards this week noted the foundation’s philanthropic efforts in areas such as global health and HIV/AIDS, but urged the foundation – formally called the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation – to transfer the work to other large US charities.

But he broadened his defense against charges of racism beyond his own campaign and supporters to the wider Republican Party and traditional GOP policy proposals. “Should Clinton win, all of that work and all of the foundation’s assets should be spun off to an organisation with no ties to the first family”, the Post’s editorial board wrote.

The foundation has said Hillary Clinton was not involved with the group while serving as the nation’s top diplomat.

Trump met Thursday in NY with members of a new Republican Party initiative meant to train young – and largely minority – volunteers.