Donald Trump fires back: ‘Hillary Clinton has to go to jail’
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Hours after Hillary Clinton called him “unfit” to represent the nation’s interests around the world, Donald Trump lambasted his likely Democratic presidential rival in his own Thursday speech in California.
Among other barbs, Trump called her “pathetic” and vowed that if he wins the presidency he will investigate whether she broke the law by using a private email server for official business while she was secretary of state.
Speaking to a crowd of a few thousand people at a convention center here, Trump repeatedly trashed Clinton’s foreign policy speech in San Diego earlier in the day. At first, Trump called her speech “sad” and so boring that it nearly put him to sleep. “It was so sad to watch,” he declared.
But Clinton’s remarks clearly touched a nerve with the presumptive Republican nominee, who kept returning to the subject again and again throughout his 45-minute appearance.
He repeatedly accused Clinton of “lying” about his foreign policy proposals, including his previous suggestion to the New York Times and other news organizations that Japan be allowed to have nuclear weapons — which he now denies saying. “She lies so much,” Trump insisted.
He also accused Clinton of cozying up to President Obama and his policies so that she would avoid being prosecuted for the email scandal, which he called an embarrassment.
“Remember Hillary Clinton used to hate Obama? … Now it’s, ‘Yes, sir, Mr. President, sir,’” Trump said. “Anything Obama wants, she’s going forward with. Because you know why? She doesn’t want to go to jail.”
Trump called it a “disgrace to the United States” that Clinton was allowed to continue to run for president. If he wins, he told the crowd here that he will ask the attorney general he appoints to “take a very good look at it from a fair standpoint.”
Again referring to Clinton’s foreign policy remarks as a “phony speech,” Trump later added, “I will say this: Hillary Clinton has to go to jail. She is guilty as hell.”
Trump’s appearance here came amid yet another firestorm over racially tinged criticism he’s lobbed at a federal judge presiding over a case involving his now-defunct Trump University.
In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump suggested that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel has an “absolute conflict” in presiding over the case because of his “Mexican heritage.” He accused Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, of being biased against him because of his pledge to crack down on illegal immigration. “I’m building a wall,” Trump told the paper. “It’s an inherent conflict of interest.”
Trump had previously hinted at Curiel’s ethnicity in campaign speeches, including a rally last week in San Diego, where the case is currently pending. But he had never been so blatant about what he believes to be Curiel’s bias. Court filings show that Trump has not requested that the case be reassigned to a different judge.
At his San Jose rally, the GOP candidate made no mention of Trump University. Trump also didn’t mention the backhanded endorsement he received earlier in the day from House Speaker Paul Ryan, who announced that he would vote for Trump, after previously refusing to do so.
Instead, Trump kept his focus largely on Clinton — for whom he coined yet another nickname. Reminding supporters that he used to call Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, his former rival, “Lyin’ Ted,” he said he would no longer do so. “We love Ted. … We don’t say ‘Lyin’ Ted anymore,’” he declared.
Instead, he would save that nickname for Clinton. “Lyin’, crooked Hillary,” he said.
