Promoting National Unity, Clinton Also Seeks To Build Trust
PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The conventions are over, and the race for the White House has officially begun.
As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump took their message to voters in swing states Friday.
Clinton's return to the campaign trail came a day after she capped off a four-day Democratic Party convention celebration with a plea for national unity and tolerance.
"I have to tell you, it was also kind of overwhelming," she said.
But she was left Friday to look ahead on what may be the hardest and most important days of her political life.
"And it's not so much that I'm on the ticket, it is because of the stark choice that is posed to America in this election," she said.
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The first female presidential nominee headed off Friday on a bus tour through two Rust Belt battlegrounds, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine spoke about economic opportunity, diversity and national security -- themes hammered home during their party's convention.
Clinton on Friday also told supporters that given the tone in the two different campaigns, she and Trump might as well be talking about different planets.
Clinton slammed Trump for painting a picture of a divisive nation in decline. As the Democratic pick for president blasted her opponent at a Temple University.
Clinton said she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night with "humility, determination and boundless confidence in America's promise.''
"Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying," Clinton said. "And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It's truly up to us. We have to decide whether we're going to work together so we can all rise together."
Chelsea Clinton, hoping to become the first daughter for a second time, introduced her mother.
"She never, ever forgets who she's fighting for," she said.
Clinton realizes she still has a steep climb ahead to boost her likeability among voters, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Polls taken days before her address had Trump narrowly beating her in a head-to-head match up and on key issues like the economy.
During her acceptance speech, she billed herself as a strong contrast to her opponent.
"Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again. Well, he could start by actually making things in America again," she said.
She also laid out her strategy for defeating the Islamic State group.
"We will strike their sanctuaries from the air and support local forces taking them out on the ground," she said.
Some Bernie Sanders supporters tried to interrupt Clinton's speech and turned their backs as she spoke. Clinton acknowledged them and told them their cause is her cause as well.
Clinton and Kaine are now hoping to carry momentum of Thursday night onto the campaign trail and right through November.
"America's destiny is ours to choose," she said. "So let's be stronger together."
For his part, Trump fired off a succession of tweets while Clinton spoke Thursday night, calling her, "Crooked Hillary."
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign called Clinton's acceptance speech "an insulting collection of clichés and recycled rhetoric.''
The statement issued Friday on Trump's campaign Facebook page said Clinton's stance on immigration "will take jobs, resources and benefits from the most vulnerable citizens of the United States and give them to the citizens of other countries.''
Trump tweeted a link to the statement. It slams Clinton for not mentioning the words, "radical Islam,'' "her disaster in Libya'' or the investigation of Clinton's private email server.
The statement said Clinton's remarks were "delivered from a fantasy universe, not the reality we live in today.''
Trump was also still fuming Friday over comments made at the Democratic Convention.
"I was going to hit one guy in particular -- a very little guy. I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin. He wouldn't know what the hell happened," Trump said in Colorado Friday.
That "particular guy" is believed to be former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who called Trump a con man.
Trump was out west Friday, where he spoke in Colorado Springs late in the afternoon while vice presidential pick Mike Pence campaigned in Ohio.
"Isn't it good to have Trump running for the presidency?" Trump asked a cheering audience.
With the balloons having dropped at both conventions, the real work is now in progress. Both candidates have about 100 days to make a case to the country.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
