Clinton in Las Vegas touts jobs plan, slams Trump

By Ric Anderson

Published Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016 | 10:04 a.m.

Updated Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016 | 3:04 p.m.

Riding a polling bump after the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton tried to put more distance between herself and GOP presidential rival Donald Trump today by focusing on job growth and pro-labor policies during a visit to Las Vegas.

While vowing to create jobs by investing in infrastructure, supporting job-training programs and reducing the cost of education, Clinton also blasted Trump for outsourcing the manufacturing of his branded products to foreign companies and failing to honor contracts in construction and development deals.

Do you want a president who stands for “you’re fired,” or one who stands for “you’re hired,” Clinton said, referring to Trump’s signature line from “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

“I know people who were destroyed by Donald Trump,” Clinton said. “So take a look at what he’s done, not what he says.”

Clinton began her day in Las Vegas at Mojave Electric Co. before traveling to the headquarters of the IBEW Local 357 electrical workers union, where she spoke before a packed crowd.

There, she reiterated her plan to help workers organize and bargain collectively, make college more affordable, invest in infrastructure and encourage vocational training.

Repeating a pledge she made at Mojave Electric, she said she would provide a $1,500 tax credit to businesses that supported apprenticeship programs.

Clinton urged her supporters to reach out to Trump's followers and have a dialogue with them to prevent them "from being sold a bill of goods like the students at Trump University were sold."

"Donald Trump is unqualified to be president and is temperamentally unfit to be the commander in chief," she said.

At one point, Secret Service agents surrounded Clinton on stage after animal rights protesters disrupted the event. An agent pushed back one protester after she tried to jump over some fencing.

“Apparently these people are here to protest Trump because Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals,” Clinton said, an apparent reference to big-game hunting by Trump sons Eric and Donald Jr.

Clinton was preceded on stage by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Reid touted Clinton’s plan to invest in infrastructure and her pledge to support growth of renewable energy, finishing his remarks by calling her “the most intelligent person ever to run for president.” He never referred to Trump by name, instead calling him “the egomaniac.”

Al D. Davis, business manager and financial secretary of IBEW Local 357, said there was no comparison between Clinton and Trump on labor issues.

“She’s pro-labor ... She wants to invest in the infrastructure of this country, which is what (American workers) need," Davis said.

Davis said Trump had offered no details on how he would help workers.

“At least with past Republican nominees, we knew what their agenda was,” he said while awaiting Clinton’s arrival at Mojave Electric.

Davis said the local IBEW chapter represented 3,400 active electrical workers and 800 retirees.

A CNN/ORC poll released Monday showed Clinton had increased her lead over Trump by 7 percentage points, with 52 percent of respondents indicating support versus 43 percent for Trump.

Other polls also show Clinton has picked up ground, although some have the race as a dead heat or with Clinton holding only a 1 percent or 2 percent advantage.

Today came news that Clinton had polled well in a pair of key states — New Hampshire and Florida. A poll of New Hampshire voters conducted by Massinc Polling Group showed that 47 percent preferred her or leaned toward her, as opposed to 32 percent for Trump. Clinton lost the primary in the swing state badly to Sen. Bernie Sanders, so the poll represented a turnaround for her.

Meanwhile, a Suffolk University poll indicated Clinton led Trump 48-42 percent in Florida.

During a stop Wednesday in Denver, Clinton pledged to create “millions of jobs with rising incomes” and bring about the “biggest infrastructure investment programs since World War II.”

“We are not satisfied with where we are in the country,” Clinton said, speaking at a high school, “but we think we know how to make progress together.”

Clinton also continued her criticism of Trump for his dispute with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq.

She said Trump’s behavior toward the Khans, which began when he suggested Ghazala Khan remained silent during the couple’s appearance at the convention because her religion forbade her to speak, showed he does not respect military families. Ghazala Khan said she did not speak at the convention because it would have been too emotionally painful.

“Anyone who can be provoked by a tweet should not be anywhere near nuclear weapons,” Clinton said.

Clinton’s Las Vegas visit occurred amid a call by Democrats to drive high turnout among minority and young voters to win the presidency by a wide margin and crush Trump’s movement. The Trump-Khan controversy — as well as Trump’s refusal to endorse fellow Republicans Paul Ryan and John McCain, and his recent bombshell in which he welcomed Russia to hack Clinton’s email — have drawn backlash from a range of Republicans, some of whom have crossed party lines to endorse Clinton.

This story has been updated to reflect that vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine did not accompany Clinton in Las Vegas.