In ME, Trump strikes back at US Chamber on trade

Speaking in the aftermath on the attack on Istanbul airport, Donald Trump said that the Obama administration had been too soft in dealing with extremists.

The approach marks a departure from the free-trade tenants of conservative orthodoxy, and has been panned by Democrats as well as the usually Republican-friendly U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which warned it would lead to millions of job losses and a recession.

The Trump-Chamber spat is also unusual, as the Chamber “usually focuses its attention and resources down ballot”, said Tony Fratto, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies.

The Islamic State, Trump said, “can do chopping off heads, drowning people in steel cages, they can do whatever they want to do”.

“We allowed foreign countries to subsidize their goods, devalue their currencies, violate their agreements, and cheat in every way imaginable”, Trump said, according to a transcript of his remarks distributed by his campaign.

He polls best in China, where there is a split between 40 percent who have no confidence in Trump and 39 percent who do not offer an opinion.

Nationally, A new CBS News poll has Clinton ahead of Trump in several battleground states, but only by a hair.

“If they ever thought we were going to withdraw, they’ll give us everything we want”, Trump said, dismissing concerns voiced by Hillary Clinton and others that such threats could fracture key strategic alliances. “ISIS was formed during her tenure”. He repeated his wild notion that the North American Free Trade Agreement is responsible for widespread economic hardship, along with the weird idea that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a grave threat.

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest made clear that Obama believes an impartial investigation is crucial and noted that Lynch had said the conversation was benign.

“They say, ‘Oh, can we trust Donald with a button?'” Mr Trump said, adding: “I would be the slowest with the button, but I would be the one that doesn’t have to use it because they are going to respect us again”.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a frequent critic of Trump, responded to the speech with a series of tweets linking to studies detailing the benefits of free-trade agreements.

Not everyone at the rally was supportive. He’s right that they’re bad, but he won’t be able to fix them. That prompted a typical Trump directive from the podium.

Peggy Schaffer, vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party, said Trump’s policies were a bad fit for Maine – especially his economic proposals.

“My hope is that he is beginning to pivot and become what I would call a more serious and credible candidate for the highest office in the land”, McConnell said.

Trump, who was slated to speak in Bangor, Maine, later on Wednesday, took criticism for his trade speech from both sides of the political aisle. That’s a swing state that Obama won in 2008 but lost in 2012.

“This is the biggest Congressional District east of the Mississippi River and as you guys know, if Donald J. Trump carries this district – he will, won’t he?”

Instead of being insulted, Mr. Trump should be commended for bringing the trade issue to the forefront.