Trump, Clinton Continue To Exchange Claims Of Racism
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A battle over accusations of bigotry continued to rage between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday.
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, both candidates reached back into the past and went to the videotape. The Clinton camp released a new commercial.
"Trump management was charged with discriminating against African-Americans, and breaking federal law," a voiceover says in the commercial, before using a sound bite from Trump where he says: "I have a great relationship with the blacks. I always have a great relationship with the blacks."
Meanwhile on Twitter, Trump posted a tape of Clinton speaking on the 1994 crime bill, where she called some criminals "superpredators."
"No conscience, no empathy -- we can talk about how they ended up that way, but right now they have to be brought to heel," Clinton says in the 1994 clip.
Clinton has been criticized by some Democrats for the past remark – in an April debate, Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders said "suprepredator" was "a racist term and everybody knew it was a racist term."
The race issue has now exploded in the campaign with some of the harshest attacks yet lobbed by both sides. Clinton hit Trump again today, and throwing out accusation of "bigotry."
"I am reaching out to everyone -- Republicans, Democrats, independents -- everyone who is as troubled as I am by the bigotry and divisiveness," Trump said.
Trump also doubled down on his "bigotry" attacks on Clinton, saying inner cities are worse than ever.
"You look at what's happened with her policies and the policies of President Obama and others," Trump said. "Look at the poverty. Look at the rise in poverty. Look at the rise in violence."
On another front, the House of Representatives was looking into reports Friday that more than half of the non-government people who met with then-Secretary of State Clinton donated to the Clinton Foundation.
In a letter to the State Department, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said: "These reports give rise to a perception that access to our State Department's official resources were for sale."
Trump is meeting with Hispanic business owners in Las Vegas as a part of his weeklong outreach to minority voters – a group Trump said Clinton and the Democrats have abandoned.