Hillary Clinton calls Donald Trump a ‘threat’ to democracy

NEW YORK: Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of turning the party of Abraham Lincoln into a divisive entity at a moment when the US should be working toward building a renewed sense of unity. “This man is the nominee of the Party of Lincoln,” Clinton said of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

“We’re watching it become the Party of Trump. And that’s not just a huge loss for our democracy, it’s a threat to it.” Speaking at Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Lincoln declared in 1858 that “house divided against itself cannot stand,” the presumptive Democratic nominee aimed to put Trump’s rise in historical context, stressing that while the threats he poses are not as immediate as those the country faced more than 150 years ago, they are nonetheless serious.

Clinton has often stressed that one of her advantages, not only over Trump, but also Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary, is her desire and skill to listen to people and to work toward consensus. “In times like these, we need a president who can help pull us together, not split us apart,” she said. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his presidential rival’s speech.