Congressional Republicans on Tuesday accused Hillary Clinton&#39;s state department of failing to protect four Americans killed in a 2012 attack in Libya in a final report that contained no major new revelations, but rekindled debate on the US presidential campaign trail. 
 
In an 800-page report that Democrats derided as a political vendetta, Republicans said Clinton, who served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 and is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and her staff, showed a &quot;shameful&quot; lack of response to congressional investigators looking into the attacks on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. 
 
The report, the culmination of a two-year investigation by a special congressional committee led by Republican representative Trey Gowdy, is likely to be the last official attempt to investigate the attack. Seven other congressional panels have also investigated the attack on the US diplomatic and CIA posts in Benghazi. 
 
The latest investigation has been used by Republicans to attack Clinton&rsquo;s national-security credentials. Opinion polls have shown Americans deeply split along partisan lines over the probe. 
 
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has repeatedly charged that Clinton is personally responsible for the deaths of a US ambassador and three other Americans killed by militia groups in the September &nbsp;11, 2012 incident. 
 
Clinton&#39;s campaign dismissed the committee&#39;s report, saying it had not found anything that had not been discovered by previous congressional probes. White House press secretary Josh Earnest labelled the effort a &quot;political exercise.&quot; 
 
Clinton, speaking in Denver, said it was crucial to &quot;learn the right lessons&quot; from the Benghazi tragedy. 
 
&quot;No one has thought more about or lost more sleep over the lives that we lost - the four Americans - which was devastating,&quot; said Clinton. 
 
Trump waited until hours after the report&#39;s release to comment. &quot;Benghazi is just another Hillary Clinton failure,&quot; he said on Twitter. &quot;It just never seems to work the way it&#39;s supposed to with Clinton.&quot; 
 
Republican national committee chairman Reince Priebus said Clinton&#39;s actions as secretary of state were &quot;disqualifying.&quot; 
 
&quot;Hillary Clinton was in charge, knew the risks, and did nothing&quot; to protect personnel on the ground in Libya, he said. 
 
Professor Julian Zelizer, a political analyst at Princeton University, called the report &quot;old news&quot; but said that would not stop Trump from trying to exploit the issue going forward. &quot;A story like this, even though it seems familiar, can still serve to mobilise Republicans, and certainly Donald Trump will do that. He&rsquo;ll certainly try,&rdquo; Zelizer said. 
 
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist, said he doubted the report would influence undecided voters. &quot;Those who are willing to believe that there was wrongdoing on secretary Clinton&rsquo;s part were unlikely willing to vote for her in the first place,&quot; he said. 
 
Systematic security lapses&nbsp; 
 
At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Gowdy, chairman of the special congressional panel, said there was a disconnect between the violence unfolding in Benghazi and the perception among top Obama administration officials that &quot;the fighting had subsided&quot; at the US diplomatic compound. 
 
The committee&#39;s report faulted the state department for providing inadequate security for the US compound in Benghazi, state department officials and the CIA for failing to properly evaluate the threat to US personnel on the ground, and the Pentagon for not being in position to aid the Americans under siege. The report did not dispute assertions by the Obama administration that such a mission would have come too late to help the four who were killed. 
 
None of those conclusions, however, came as revelations. All had been reached by previous probes. 
 
The report also accused the White House of stonewalling the investigation, something aides to Obama have denied. 
 
Democrats on the Benghazi committee issued their own report a day before Tuesday&#39;s release, accusing Republicans of conducting an overzealous investigation. 
 
According to a website maintained by committee Democrats, the investigation cost more than $7.1 million, a figure that excludes money spent on investigations by the seven other congressional committees that investigated the attacks. 
 
The Gowdy committee investigation lasted 782 days, longer than congressional probes of Pearl Harbour, the Kennedy assassination, the Iran-Contra scandal and Hurricane Katrina. 
 
Since it was established in May 2014, the Gowdy committee has held four public hearings, according to its website, which said that it interviewed 107 witnesses, mostly behind closed doors, including 81 who never appeared before the other committees that investigated the attacks. It reviewed about 75,000 pages of previously unexamined documents. 
 
Clinton rebuffed charges 
 
Last October, Clinton, already a Democratic presidential candidate, calmly deflected harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the attack during a testy 11-hour hearing before the Gowdy committee. 
 
In testimony that stretched deep into the night, Clinton rejected Republican accusations that she ignored requests for security upgrades in Libya and misinformed the public about the cause of the attack. 
 
Clinton&#39;s appearance before the panel followed months of controversy about her use of a private home email server for her state department work, a disclosure that emerged in part because of the panel&#39;s demand to see her official records. 
 
A 2012 report by a government accountability review board faulted state department officials for providing &quot;grossly&quot; insufficient security in Benghazi, despite upgrade requests from ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others in Libya. 
 
(Reuters)

The killing of an ambassador and three other Americans in a US compound in Benghazi has been used by Republicans to flay Clinton repeatedly

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday accused Hillary Clinton's state department of failing to protect four Americans killed in a 2012 attack in Libya in a final report that contained no major new revelations, but rekindled debate on the US presidential campaign trail. In an 800-page report that Democrats derided as a political vendetta, Republicans said Clinton, who served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 and is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and her staff, showed a "shameful" lack of response to congressional investigators looking into the attacks on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The report, the culmination of a two-year investigation by a special congressional committee led by Republican representative Trey Gowdy, is likely to be the last official attempt to investigate the attack. Seven other congressional panels have also investigated the attack on the US diplomatic and CIA posts in Benghazi. The latest investigation has been used by Republicans to attack Clinton’s national-security credentials. Opinion polls have shown Americans deeply split along partisan lines over the probe. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has repeatedly charged that Clinton is personally responsible for the deaths of a US ambassador and three other Americans killed by militia groups in the September 11, 2012 incident. Clinton's campaign dismissed the committee's report, saying it had not found anything that had not been discovered by previous congressional probes. White House press secretary Josh Earnest labelled the effort a "political exercise." Clinton, speaking in Denver, said it was crucial to "learn the right lessons" from the Benghazi tragedy. "No one has thought more about or lost more sleep over the lives that we lost - the four Americans - which was devastating," said Clinton. Trump waited until hours after the report's release to comment. "Benghazi is just another Hillary Clinton failure," he said on Twitter. "It just never seems to work the way it's supposed to with Clinton." Republican national committee chairman Reince Priebus said Clinton's actions as secretary of state were "disqualifying." "Hillary Clinton was in charge, knew the risks, and did nothing" to protect personnel on the ground in Libya, he said. Professor Julian Zelizer, a political analyst at Princeton University, called the report "old news" but said that would not stop Trump from trying to exploit the issue going forward. "A story like this, even though it seems familiar, can still serve to mobilise Republicans, and certainly Donald Trump will do that. He’ll certainly try,” Zelizer said. Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist, said he doubted the report would influence undecided voters. "Those who are willing to believe that there was wrongdoing on secretary Clinton’s part were unlikely willing to vote for her in the first place," he said. Systematic security lapses At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Gowdy, chairman of the special congressional panel, said there was a disconnect between the violence unfolding in Benghazi and the perception among top Obama administration officials that "the fighting had subsided" at the US diplomatic compound. The committee's report faulted the state department for providing inadequate security for the US compound in Benghazi, state department officials and the CIA for failing to properly evaluate the threat to US personnel on the ground, and the Pentagon for not being in position to aid the Americans under siege. The report did not dispute assertions by the Obama administration that such a mission would have come too late to help the four who were killed. None of those conclusions, however, came as revelations. All had been reached by previous probes. The report also accused the White House of stonewalling the investigation, something aides to Obama have denied. Democrats on the Benghazi committee issued their own report a day before Tuesday's release, accusing Republicans of conducting an overzealous investigation. According to a website maintained by committee Democrats, the investigation cost more than $7.1 million, a figure that excludes money spent on investigations by the seven other congressional committees that investigated the attacks. The Gowdy committee investigation lasted 782 days, longer than congressional probes of Pearl Harbour, the Kennedy assassination, the Iran-Contra scandal and Hurricane Katrina. Since it was established in May 2014, the Gowdy committee has held four public hearings, according to its website, which said that it interviewed 107 witnesses, mostly behind closed doors, including 81 who never appeared before the other committees that investigated the attacks. It reviewed about 75,000 pages of previously unexamined documents. Clinton rebuffed charges Last October, Clinton, already a Democratic presidential candidate, calmly deflected harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the attack during a testy 11-hour hearing before the Gowdy committee. In testimony that stretched deep into the night, Clinton rejected Republican accusations that she ignored requests for security upgrades in Libya and misinformed the public about the cause of the attack. Clinton's appearance before the panel followed months of controversy about her use of a private home email server for her state department work, a disclosure that emerged in part because of the panel's demand to see her official records. A 2012 report by a government accountability review board faulted state department officials for providing "grossly" insufficient security in Benghazi, despite upgrade requests from ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and others in Libya. (Reuters)

Clinton's culpability over Benghazi attack debate reignites after panel's report

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton regained a double-digit lead over Republican rival Donald Trump this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. 
 
The June 20-24 poll showed that 46.6 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 per cent supported Trump. Another 20.1 per cent said they would support neither candidate. 
 
Trump had enjoyed a brief boost in support following the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, as he doubled down on his pledge to ban Muslims from entering the country, cutting Clinton&#39;s lead to nine points. 
 
But Trump&#39;s rise in popularity appeared to be only temporary, unlike his lasting surge among the Republican field last year after the attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, California. 
 
Clinton&#39;s 13.3 percentage point lead is about the same as she had before the Orlando attack. 
 
Trump&#39;s slip this week came as he struggled to show that he can keep up with a Clinton campaign apparatus that has dwarfed his in size and funding. 
 
Campaign finance disclosures released earlier this week showed Trump started June with a war chest of just $1.3 million, a fraction of Clinton&#39;s $42 million. Trump sought to ease concerns among his allies by saying that he could tap his &quot;unlimited&quot; personal wealth if needed, and also by bolstering efforts to raise money through fundraising events and online donations. 
 
Meanwhile, Republican leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continued to express reservations about their new standard bearer, who has angered some in the party with his fiery rhetoric. 
 
Ryan and Walker both said over the past week that they felt Republicans should follow their &quot;conscience&quot; when deciding to support the party&#39;s likely nominee, instead of urging party members to support him. 
 
The poll only captured some of the voter reaction to Britain&#39;s decision in Thursday&#39;s referendum to exit the European Union, a move that some pundits say suggests Trump&#39;s insurgent candidacy has tapped into a broad and powerful anti-globalization wave sweeping Western countries. 
 
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and included interviews with 1,201 likely voters in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3.3 percentage points. 
 
(Reuters)

The mass shooting in Orlando and his pledge to ban Muslims from the US had given Trump a brief boost, cutting Clinton's lead to 9 points

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton regained a double-digit lead over Republican rival Donald Trump this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. The June 20-24 poll showed that 46.6 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 per cent supported Trump. Another 20.1 per cent said they would support neither candidate. Trump had enjoyed a brief boost in support following the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, as he doubled down on his pledge to ban Muslims from entering the country, cutting Clinton's lead to nine points. But Trump's rise in popularity appeared to be only temporary, unlike his lasting surge among the Republican field last year after the attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, California. Clinton's 13.3 percentage point lead is about the same as she had before the Orlando attack. Trump's slip this week came as he struggled to show that he can keep up with a Clinton campaign apparatus that has dwarfed his in size and funding. Campaign finance disclosures released earlier this week showed Trump started June with a war chest of just $1.3 million, a fraction of Clinton's $42 million. Trump sought to ease concerns among his allies by saying that he could tap his "unlimited" personal wealth if needed, and also by bolstering efforts to raise money through fundraising events and online donations. Meanwhile, Republican leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continued to express reservations about their new standard bearer, who has angered some in the party with his fiery rhetoric. Ryan and Walker both said over the past week that they felt Republicans should follow their "conscience" when deciding to support the party's likely nominee, instead of urging party members to support him. The poll only captured some of the voter reaction to Britain's decision in Thursday's referendum to exit the European Union, a move that some pundits say suggests Trump's insurgent candidacy has tapped into a broad and powerful anti-globalization wave sweeping Western countries. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and included interviews with 1,201 likely voters in all 50 states. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3.3 percentage points. (Reuters)

Clinton lead over Trump back to double digits: Poll

US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said today he will vote for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. 
 
Asked if he would vote for Clinton in November, Sanders told MSNBC television: &ldquo;Yes. The issue right here is I&rsquo;m going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump. I think Trump in so many ways would be a disaster if he were elected president.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Clinton clinched the party nomination earlier in June to become the first woman in the 240-year history of the United States to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. While Sanders had said he would work with Clinton to defeat Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, he is yet to endorse Clinton and has kept his own election campaign alive. 
 
(Reuters)

'I am going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump,' he said

US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said today he will vote for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Asked if he would vote for Clinton in November, Sanders told MSNBC television: “Yes. The issue right here is I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump. I think Trump in so many ways would be a disaster if he were elected president.” Clinton clinched the party nomination earlier in June to become the first woman in the 240-year history of the United States to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. While Sanders had said he would work with Clinton to defeat Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, he is yet to endorse Clinton and has kept his own election campaign alive. (Reuters)

Will vote for Clinton, says Bernie Sanders

Indonesia&#39;s Vice President today voiced concerns over US presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s comments on Muslims, saying &quot;discrimination according to religion&quot; could prompt retaliatory policies from other countries. 
 
Jusuf Kalla told Reuters in an interview that the government was &quot;not happy with Trump&#39;s opinions&quot; - the first critical remarks from a top official in the world&#39;s most populous Muslim-majority nation, which come as Trump called for more profiling in the US to battle crime. 
 
&quot;Any country, especially big countries, seen making policies about &#39;radicalism&#39; or discrimination according to religion will be a bad issue,&quot; Kalla said in an interview with Reuters. 
 
&quot;There will be &#39;vice-versa&#39; policies from other countries,&quot; he said, adding an impact would be felt on economy and trade. 
 
Trump&#39;s inflammatory remarks on Muslims, including wanting to temporarily ban them from entering the United States, on foreign policy and on international trade ties have raised concerns in some Asian countries over a potentially &quot;isolationist&quot; United States. 
 
In Indonesia, Southeast Asia&#39;s biggest economy, politicians and lawmakers are already thinking about restricting US trade and investment if Trump becomes President. An online petition, urging a ban on the billionaire and his businesses from the country, has received nearly 47,000 signatures. 
 
The real estate developer also has partnerships to operate luxury resorts on Bali and in Java, which Indonesian officials have said could be threatened by his rhetoric. 
 
Trump Hotel collection last year announced a partnership with Indonesia&#39;s PT. Media Nusantara Citra to manage new luxury hotels on Bali and in West Java, Trump unit&#39;s first foray into Asia. 
 
&quot;Of course there will be an impact, not for Indonesia, but for his business,&quot; Kalla said, when asked about Trump&#39;s involvement in the resorts. 
 
But the Indonesian government was in wait-and-see mode, Kalla said, adding Trump&#39;s comments could be seen as posturing as part of his presidential campaign. 
 
&quot;We still see this as campaign strategy. Campaigning is one thing and realisation is another thing,&quot; he said. 
(Reuters)

Indonesia already thinking about restricting US trade and investment if Trump becomes President

Indonesia's Vice President today voiced concerns over US presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on Muslims, saying "discrimination according to religion" could prompt retaliatory policies from other countries. Jusuf Kalla told Reuters in an interview that the government was "not happy with Trump's opinions" - the first critical remarks from a top official in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, which come as Trump called for more profiling in the US to battle crime. "Any country, especially big countries, seen making policies about 'radicalism' or discrimination according to religion will be a bad issue," Kalla said in an interview with Reuters. "There will be 'vice-versa' policies from other countries," he said, adding an impact would be felt on economy and trade. Trump's inflammatory remarks on Muslims, including wanting to temporarily ban them from entering the United States, on foreign policy and on international trade ties have raised concerns in some Asian countries over a potentially "isolationist" United States. In Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, politicians and lawmakers are already thinking about restricting US trade and investment if Trump becomes President. An online petition, urging a ban on the billionaire and his businesses from the country, has received nearly 47,000 signatures. The real estate developer also has partnerships to operate luxury resorts on Bali and in Java, which Indonesian officials have said could be threatened by his rhetoric. Trump Hotel collection last year announced a partnership with Indonesia's PT. Media Nusantara Citra to manage new luxury hotels on Bali and in West Java, Trump unit's first foray into Asia. "Of course there will be an impact, not for Indonesia, but for his business," Kalla said, when asked about Trump's involvement in the resorts. But the Indonesian government was in wait-and-see mode, Kalla said, adding Trump's comments could be seen as posturing as part of his presidential campaign. "We still see this as campaign strategy. Campaigning is one thing and realisation is another thing," he said. (Reuters)

Trump's comments on Muslims could prompt retaliatory policies: Indonesian VP

&nbsp;Donald Trump chipped away at Hillary Clinton&#39;s lead in the presidential race this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released today, as the candidates clashed over how to respond to the worst mass shooting in modern US history. 
 
The poll, conducted from Monday to Friday, showed Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, with a 10.7 point lead among likely voters over Trump, her likely Republican rival in the November presidential election. That&#39;s down from a lead of 14.3 points for Clinton on Sunday, the day an American-born shooter who declared allegiance to militant group Islamic State killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 
 
Trump seized on the attack to sharpen his security proposals, saying he would block immigration to the United States from any country with a &quot;proven history of terrorism&quot; against America and its allies if elected. The pledge fine-tuned an earlier vow, made after the attacks last year in Paris and California, to ban the entry of all Muslims into the United States. 
 
He also called for measures to make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to obtain firearms, veering from the Republican Party&#39;s general opposition to gun control. 
 
While Trump&#39;s comments on both Muslims and guns dismayed some Republican elites, they may have cheered some voters. 
 
Some 45 per cent of Americans said they supported Trump&#39;s idea to suspend Muslim immigration, up from 41.9 per cent at the start of the month, according to the poll. Meanwhile, about 70 per cent of Americans, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, said they wanted to see at least moderate regulations and restrictions on guns, up from 60 per cent in similar polls in 2013 and 2014. 
 
Clinton focussed her response to the Orlando attack on the need to boost intelligence gathering and defeat Islamic State and what she called &quot;radical jihadist terrorism,&quot; while warning against demonising Muslim-Americans. She also repeated her calls for tougher gun control measures, including a ban on assault weapons. 
 
As usual after a major attack, &quot;terrorism&quot; jumped to the top concern among all adults in the poll - rising above the economy, health care and other major issues. 
 
The poll&#39;s five-day average showed that 45.5 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton, while 34.8 per cent supported Trump, and another 19.7 per cent did not support either candidate. On Sunday, Clinton&#39;s support was at 46.6 per cent, versus Trump&#39;s 32.3 per cent. 
 
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English with adults living in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. The political horserace poll included 1,133 likely voters and has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll&#39;s accuracy, of 3.4 percentage points. 
(Reuters)

Some 45% of Americans said they supported Trump's idea to suspend Muslim immigration

Donald Trump chipped away at Hillary Clinton's lead in the presidential race this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released today, as the candidates clashed over how to respond to the worst mass shooting in modern US history. The poll, conducted from Monday to Friday, showed Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, with a 10.7 point lead among likely voters over Trump, her likely Republican rival in the November presidential election. That's down from a lead of 14.3 points for Clinton on Sunday, the day an American-born shooter who declared allegiance to militant group Islamic State killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Trump seized on the attack to sharpen his security proposals, saying he would block immigration to the United States from any country with a "proven history of terrorism" against America and its allies if elected. The pledge fine-tuned an earlier vow, made after the attacks last year in Paris and California, to ban the entry of all Muslims into the United States. He also called for measures to make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to obtain firearms, veering from the Republican Party's general opposition to gun control. While Trump's comments on both Muslims and guns dismayed some Republican elites, they may have cheered some voters. Some 45 per cent of Americans said they supported Trump's idea to suspend Muslim immigration, up from 41.9 per cent at the start of the month, according to the poll. Meanwhile, about 70 per cent of Americans, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, said they wanted to see at least moderate regulations and restrictions on guns, up from 60 per cent in similar polls in 2013 and 2014. Clinton focussed her response to the Orlando attack on the need to boost intelligence gathering and defeat Islamic State and what she called "radical jihadist terrorism," while warning against demonising Muslim-Americans. She also repeated her calls for tougher gun control measures, including a ban on assault weapons. As usual after a major attack, "terrorism" jumped to the top concern among all adults in the poll - rising above the economy, health care and other major issues. The poll's five-day average showed that 45.5 per cent of likely American voters supported Clinton, while 34.8 per cent supported Trump, and another 19.7 per cent did not support either candidate. On Sunday, Clinton's support was at 46.6 per cent, versus Trump's 32.3 per cent. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English with adults living in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. The political horserace poll included 1,133 likely voters and has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll's accuracy, of 3.4 percentage points. (Reuters)

After Orlando shooting, Clinton's lead over Trump slips

Donald Trump offered a message of ethnic harmony yesterday at a Christian evangelical conference. He was trying to calm concern about his criticism of a Mexican-American judge. 
 
In a departure from his usual freewheeling style, Trump read a carefully scripted speech from a teleprompter as part of a new push by his campaign to tone down the outspoken New Yorker&#39;s harsh rhetoric. 
 
Trump&#39;s remarks included a wide-ranging attack on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The 69-year-old said that money aimed at resettling Syrian refugees in the United States should instead be spent on tackling poverty in US cities. 
 
Speaking to the annual conference of the conservative Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, Trump did not mention the controversy over his charge that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot treat him fairly because of his Mexican heritage. However, he did make a point of saying that he would represent all Americans if elected president on November 8. 
 
&quot;Freedom of any kind means no one should be judged by their race or their colour and the tone of his hue,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Right now, we have a very divided nation. We&#39;re going to bring our nation together.&quot; 
 
Paul Ryan, the top elected US Republican, had criticised Trump for what he called a &quot;textbook definition of a racist comment&quot; for his remarks about the judge. Other Republican leaders warned Trump to change his tone or risk losing their support. 
 
Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who led a movement to derail Trump&#39;s nomination, told CNN he would not consider running for the White House. 
 
Romney blasted Trump for comments that he said denigrated Mexicans, women and religion. 
 
&quot;Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry and trickle-down misogyny - all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America,&quot; he said. 
 
Romney said he expects Trump to get the Republican nomination but added that he will not vote for either Trump or Clinton. He left open the possibility of casting a ballot for the Libertarian Party candidate, former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson. 
 
As Trump sought to rally more Republicans behind him, Clinton met with US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to try and shore up support from the left wing of the Democratic Party. 
 
Clinton later addressed the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the non-partisan arm of the women&#39;s health group, and had Trump trained in her sights. 
 
&ldquo;This is a man who has called women pigs, dogs and disgusting animals, it&rsquo;s kind of hard to imagine counting on him to respect our fundamental rights,&rdquo; said Clinton, the first woman to become the presumptive presidential nominee of a major party. 
 
Clinton leads Trump by 11 percentage points, nearly the same as a week ago, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday. 
 
The real estate mogul&#39;s struggle to unify Republicans behind his insurgent candidacy was apparent at the evangelical Faith &amp; Freedom conference where several speakers studiously avoided speaking his name. 
 
Former campaign rival Carly Fiorina steered clear of Trump, speaking instead of the need to prevent liberal policies taking hold. 
 
US Representative Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, said a Republican president is needed, without mentioning Trump. 
 
&quot;We don&#39;t want this contest this fall to just be a contest of personalities,&quot; she said. 
 
But conference organiser Ralph Reed was adamant in his support for Trump, saying the New Yorker has energised the evangelical vote in a way that past Republican presidential nominees failed to do. 
 
&quot;We understand that perfection is not the measure that should be applied,&quot; Reed told the crowd. 
 
 
SYRIAN REFUGEES 
 
Trump yesterday criticised Clinton&#39;s willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States and challenged her to &quot;replace her support for increased refugee admission&quot; in favour of a new jobs program for inner cities. 
 
He stopped short of repeating his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, a proposal that has drawn heavy fire from Republicans and Democrats. 
 
&quot;We have to temporarily stop this whole thing with what&rsquo;s going on with refugees where we don&rsquo;t know where they&rsquo;re coming from,&quot; Trump said. &quot;We have to use the money to take care of our poorest Americans so they can come out of this horrible situation that they&#39;re in.&quot; 
 
Yesterday at the funeral of boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a convert to Islam, one speaker, a rabbi, inveighed against politicians promoting intolerance of Muslims. 
 
&quot;We will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for a few people,&quot; said Rabbi Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun magazine, who said he attended the ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky, as a representative of American Jews. 
 
Trump said Clinton&#39;s refusal to use the phrase &quot;radical Islamic terrorism&quot;, favoured by Republicans to describe violent Islamist militants, makes her unfit to be president.

The US Republican presidential candidate says freedom means nobody should be judged based on their race or skin colour

Donald Trump offered a message of ethnic harmony yesterday at a Christian evangelical conference. He was trying to calm concern about his criticism of a Mexican-American judge. In a departure from his usual freewheeling style, Trump read a carefully scripted speech from a teleprompter as part of a new push by his campaign to tone down the outspoken New Yorker's harsh rhetoric. Trump's remarks included a wide-ranging attack on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The 69-year-old said that money aimed at resettling Syrian refugees in the United States should instead be spent on tackling poverty in US cities. Speaking to the annual conference of the conservative Faith & Freedom Coalition, Trump did not mention the controversy over his charge that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot treat him fairly because of his Mexican heritage. However, he did make a point of saying that he would represent all Americans if elected president on November 8. "Freedom of any kind means no one should be judged by their race or their colour and the tone of his hue," Trump said. "Right now, we have a very divided nation. We're going to bring our nation together." Paul Ryan, the top elected US Republican, had criticised Trump for what he called a "textbook definition of a racist comment" for his remarks about the judge. Other Republican leaders warned Trump to change his tone or risk losing their support. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who led a movement to derail Trump's nomination, told CNN he would not consider running for the White House. Romney blasted Trump for comments that he said denigrated Mexicans, women and religion. "Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry and trickle-down misogyny - all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America," he said. Romney said he expects Trump to get the Republican nomination but added that he will not vote for either Trump or Clinton. He left open the possibility of casting a ballot for the Libertarian Party candidate, former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson. As Trump sought to rally more Republicans behind him, Clinton met with US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to try and shore up support from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Clinton later addressed the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the non-partisan arm of the women's health group, and had Trump trained in her sights. “This is a man who has called women pigs, dogs and disgusting animals, it’s kind of hard to imagine counting on him to respect our fundamental rights,” said Clinton, the first woman to become the presumptive presidential nominee of a major party. Clinton leads Trump by 11 percentage points, nearly the same as a week ago, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday. The real estate mogul's struggle to unify Republicans behind his insurgent candidacy was apparent at the evangelical Faith & Freedom conference where several speakers studiously avoided speaking his name. Former campaign rival Carly Fiorina steered clear of Trump, speaking instead of the need to prevent liberal policies taking hold. US Representative Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, said a Republican president is needed, without mentioning Trump. "We don't want this contest this fall to just be a contest of personalities," she said. But conference organiser Ralph Reed was adamant in his support for Trump, saying the New Yorker has energised the evangelical vote in a way that past Republican presidential nominees failed to do. "We understand that perfection is not the measure that should be applied," Reed told the crowd. SYRIAN REFUGEES Trump yesterday criticised Clinton's willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States and challenged her to "replace her support for increased refugee admission" in favour of a new jobs program for inner cities. He stopped short of repeating his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, a proposal that has drawn heavy fire from Republicans and Democrats. "We have to temporarily stop this whole thing with what’s going on with refugees where we don’t know where they’re coming from," Trump said. "We have to use the money to take care of our poorest Americans so they can come out of this horrible situation that they're in." Yesterday at the funeral of boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a convert to Islam, one speaker, a rabbi, inveighed against politicians promoting intolerance of Muslims. "We will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for a few people," said Rabbi Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun magazine, who said he attended the ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky, as a representative of American Jews. Trump said Clinton's refusal to use the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism", favoured by Republicans to describe violent Islamist militants, makes her unfit to be president.

Stung by criticism, Donald Trump vows to work for ethnic harmony

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