Unswayed: As new controversies rock Hillary Clinton’s campaign
That’s why Denny Gibbs of Sanford, Florida, is doing all she can to help Hillary Clinton. She works a full-time job, but when she’s not working, she’s posting on social media, to try to convince undecided voters to support the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I’m an active poster. I try to correct facts that are wrong and challenge with articles from fair websites,” Gibbs said.
At a Clinton rally, Gibbs expressed frustration with campaign discourse and how she believes voters focus only on the latest media sound bite, and not what she called “real facts”.
A number of regional polls now show Trump with a narrow lead in the swing state of Florida. One national poll released this week shows Clinton and Trump almost tied.
Enthusiasm for Clinton’s candidacy has waned among some of her supporters following last week’s announcement by FBI director James Comey that the agency was investigating hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Clinton emails uncovered in an unrelated investigation.
The Clinton campaign has assailed Comey for a pronouncement they’ve called “unprecedented” so close to the election. It’s also demanding answers to why the FBI isn’t updating American voters on the status of an investigation into the hacked emails, published online by WikiLeaks, belonging to Democratic Party members, including Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.
“It’s totally unfair and breaks all the rules of law and ethics,” J Gabriel Puyana of Orlando said, as he waited hours for Clinton to appear at her second Florida rally of the day in the town of Sanford.
The Clinton campaign has repeatedly suggested Russia is behind the hacks, in an effort to influence the outcome of the United States election in favour of her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
Orlando voter Frank Kane fears the renewed investigation into Clinton’s emails will energise her critics.
“I’m concerned this will mobilise Trump supporters. Now, they have something new to be angry about.”
Clinton was also eager to change the conversation. Speaking in Sanford, she sought to shift questions of judgment and character away from her own campaign and focused instead on Trump. She questioned why he has still not released decades of tax returns, as she insists is customary for presidential candidates.
She called his business practices designed to pay as little tax as possible “dubious”.
Clinton told her supporters Trump’s tax moves have hurt Americans she believes need the most support, such as those in the military and those in need of better education.
“He took everything our country has to offer and scooped it up with both hands,” she said.
But, even as the Clinton campaign attempted to shift the spotlight off their candidate and on to Trump, some of her supporters said they don’t believe the latest development in the ongoing Clinton email controversy will hurt turnout for Clinton on election day.
“People have already made up their minds,” said Puyana.
Kane added he’s also not worried. “The polls are all over the place. They favour a different candidate every week.”
And, he hopes, come election day on Tuesday, they will still favour his candidate of choice — Hillary Clinton. — Al Jazeera/News 24 Wire