Hillary Clinton looked to separate Donald Trump from recent Republican presidents on Friday, laying out a plan to encourage national service while arguing that Trump would never address the subject.
The rollout of Clinton’s plan — which includes tripling the size of AmeriCorps and founding a reserve corps of 5 million people to respond to natural disasters — was meant to be a moment for Clinton to talk more about her policies and values than about her boisterous opponent. But as has been the case throughout 2016, Clinton’s speech was a both a direct and implicit rebuke of Trump.
“I doubt you’ll hear anything about this from my opponent,” Clinton said here. “And I think that’s a shame, because national service has always been a bipartisan goal.”
Clinton then went on to highlight what past Republican presidents have done on service — including Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Nixon signed the Domestic Volunteer Service Act and H.W. Bush created the White House Office of National Service.
“This is something we should all be able to get behind,” Clinton said, implying that Trump was not. “And when you listen to what is being said in this campaign, it can be discouraging, right? It can seem hard to find any common ground. It’s even more important that we come together whenever and wherever we can.”
Friday’s speech was the fifth in what her campaign is calling Clinton’s “Stronger Together” series — remarks where the Democratic nominee is supposed to speak more about her values and plans than about Trump.
The speeches, though, have routinely been just as much about Trump as other remarks she has given. And Friday was no different.
“You may have noticed that my opponent and I have different views about, well, nearly everything when it gets right down to it,” Clinton said. “Not just about what makes America great, because I think America is already great. But about what we should do to make it even greater.”
Clinton went on to blast Trump for suggesting in his speech to the Republican National Convention that he “alone” could fix America’s problems.
“Well, we have learned that’s his way: one person getting supreme power and exercising it ruthlessly,” Clinton said. “That’s why he admires dictators like Vladimir Putin so much. But that is not how change happens in America.”
Clinton talked about how her faith spurred her interest in service and laid out a plan where she, as president, would launch the National Service Reserve, an organization similar to the Armed Forces Reserves but for civilians who want to help during times of crisis.
Clinton, who said that goal would be to have 5 million people enrolled across all 50 states, added that the program would provide people with training and then would be called upon if needed by their city and state.
“I really think a National Service Reserve could make a difference for cities and states,” she said. “There’s so much work to be done, and so many people who want to do it. Let’s bridge that divide.”
That divide, though, was fully felt outside Clinton’s event at the Sunrise Theater.
As Clinton supporters lined up to attend the event, a contingent of around two dozen Trump supporters sporting signs and flags chanted.
As some Clinton supporters called Trump racist, the group of Trump supporters simply chanted, “Hillary’s a traitor!”