Clinton v. Trump: What they said and how they said it
By 
Someone tuning in Tuesday night to the nation’s presidential race saw two frontrunners on television who couldn’t have been more different stylistically and politically.
Hillary Clinton hosted a traditional campaign victory celebration in Miami, with a cheering crowd and a carefully crafted speech that touched on broad themes and repeatedly took direct aim at Donald Trump without ever mentioning him by name. Behind Clinton on the podium was a crowd of supporters; over her shoulder was a smiling African-American man wearing a Hillary T-shirt, several African-American women, and a woman in a headdress.
Smiling confidently, Clinton acknowledged that times are tough and suggested the way to solve our economic problems was by working together. She said trying to divide America “between us and them is wrong.” She paid homage to President Obama and said the middle class needs a raise.
“We know we’ve got work to do,” Clinton told the cheering crowd. “That work, that work is not to make America great again. America never stopped being great. We have to make America whole. We have to fill in what’s been hollowed out.”
Clinton repeatedly said she wanted to break down barriers, particularly for working class families, minorities, and immigrants. “We can break down barriers for families who have seen too many black children harassed, humiliated, and even killed,” she said. “We can break down barriers for voters in North Carolina who have been systematically disenfranchised. We can break down barriers for hard-working immigrants who are too often exploited and intimidated. We have to defend all our rights — workers rights and women’s rights, civil rights and voting rights, LGBT rights and rights for people with disabilities.”
Trump’s speech before a very small, mostly white crowd at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, was unorthodox just like his campaign. There was very little clapping and cheering. Trump was introduced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said Trump’s run for the presidency is not a campaign but a movement. Trump stepped to the podium and talked for several minutes, seemingly off the top of his head. Then he took questions from the press. He sounded decisive and in command. Unlike Clinton, he named names.
Trump said he had watched Clinton’s speech and was skeptical about her pledge to turn the country around. “She’s been there for so long,” he said. “If she hasn’t straightened it out by now, she not going to straighten it out in the next four years.”
“She wants to make America whole again and I’m trying to figure out what that’s all about. Make America great again is going to be much better than making America whole again,” he said.
Trump said it had been a tough night for Sen. Marco Rubio, who he called the “big loser of the night,” “a lightweight,” and “the little senator.” (Rubio, in his speech, called Trump “a con artist.”)
Trump started talking about his company and its employees, then shifted gears to talk about the nation’s trade deficit and the exodus of companies leaving the country. “We have to stop it. I know how to stop it,” he said. “We’re going to create jobs like you’ve never seen.”
He also promised to lower taxes on the middle class and businesses and get rid of Obamacare and Common Core educational standards. He said he would make the military bigger and stronger than ever before so “nobody, nobody, nobody is going to mess with us.” He said he would erect a “high, serious wall” along the Mexican border and have the Mexicans pay for it. How exactly he would do all of this was left unsaid.
Trump said he is expanding the Republican Party and predicted victory in November. “I am a truth teller and I will tell the truth,” he said. “I am a unifier. I know people are going to find that hard to believe, but I’m a unifier.”
–BRUCE MOHL
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Two patrons are killed and many others severely injured when an SUV crashes into a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes in West Newton. (MetroWest Daily News)
The Lowell City Council directs the city manager to clear the Lord Overpass area of homeless people. (The Sun)
CASINOS
Neil Bluhm, the developer of a proposed casino in Brockton, makes his case to the state Gaming Commission that a rival tribal casino proposal is likely to die a slow death in court. (The Enterprise)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Over four decades, more than 50 priests and church officials in a central Pennsylvania diocese molested children with full knowledge of their superiors, according to a grand jury report. No one will be prosecuted because the statutes of limitations on the alleged crimes have expired. (New York Times)
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoes a bill that would have restricted transgender access to public bathrooms. (New York Times)
ELECTIONS
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton roll up big wins across the Super Tuesday landscape. In Massachusetts, Trump carried the GOP balloting decisively, while Clinton scored a narrow win over Bernie Sanders (Boston Globe) Yesterday’s results advance the two candidates to the point where they can now safely be called their parties’ “presumed nominees,” writes the Globe’s James Pindell.
Independent voters who pulled Democratic ballots went for Sanders by a 2-1 margin, while about half of those who took Republican ballots voted for Trump, according to exit polls. (Associated Press)
Trump isn’t unstoppable, but he’s getting awfully close, says Joe Battenfeld, who adds that we’re getting closer to a moment of reckoning for Gov. Charlie Baker to decide whether to desert his party’s nominee. (Boston Herald) Paul Ryan rebukes Trump over his David Duke comments. (NPR)
A MetroWest Daily News editorial calls Trump a threat to democracy and likens him to a would-be dictator. A Globe editorial calls on Republican leaders to disavow him. A New York Times editorial calls Trump “a shaky, bombastic liar” and says the GOP is reaping the whirlwind. An Eagle-Tribune editorial says “the people of the United States are done with the status quo.” Six New Jersey newspapers call on Gov. Chris Christie, who recently endorsed Trump, to resign. (USA Today) The Union-Leader in New Hampshire regrets its endorsement of Christie. (Boston Globe)
Bill Clinton, campaigning for his wife in Massachusetts, spurred some backlash. In New Bedford, some grumbled that the crowd he drew at an appearance outside a polling place may have deterred some voters from entering. (South Coast Today) In West Roxbury, Clinton entered a polling place, prompting the Secretary of State’s office to remind the Clinton campaign about the ban on campaigning at polling spots. (Masslive)
Democrat Tom Walsh cruises to an easy victory as he wins the House seat from Peabody vacated by Republican Leah Cole. (Salem News) Fitchburg City Councilor Stephan Hay wins the rep seat vacated by Stephen DiNatale, who became the city’s mayor. (Telegram & Gazette)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The state’s biggest craft beer distributor has agreed to pay a $2.6 million in order to avoid a suspension of its liquor license for engaging in a scheme to pay Boston bars to stock its brands. (Boston Globe)
Worcester County foreclosures rose 19 percent in January compared to a year ago. (Telegram & Gazette)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
The state’s four big nonprofit health insurers all reported operating losses for 2015, blaming prescription drug costs and fees associated with the Affordable Care Act. (Boston Globe)
Despite a recent $500 million upgrade, the overcrowded Massachusetts General Hospital emergency department continues to experience delays in serving patients. (Boston Globe)
TRANSPORTATION
Public transit is once again having to take a back seat in our auto-centric culture, writes Jim Aloisi in a report on a disparity in pretax benefits. (CommonWealth)
The driver of last year’s runaway Red Line train had a long trail of MBTA rule violations on his record before being fired following the December incident. (Boston Globe)
Boston eases some requirements on taxis, including a rule mandating that they be part of a radio dispatching group, a move that may give the beleaguered industry a tiny boost in the face of the disruption caused by Uber and other ride-hailing apps. (Boston Herald)
Open-road tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike is moving into position. (State House News)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Matthew Beaton, the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs, offers no commitment to offshore wind at a Boston conference of industry officials, but seems to be in sync with House leaders. (CommonWealth) Officials from Germany and England at the conference describe the strong economic activity they are seeing as the offshore wind industry expands. (South Coast Today)
A homeless, Level 3 sex offender is charged with forcibly raping a child on Cape Cod. (Cape Cod Times)