HIGH POINT, NC -- The Triad has been a hot spot for Campaign 2016, and less than a week after democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton campaigned at UNCG, republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke in High Point.
Donald Trump had a much different demeanor during his rally at High Point University compared to others in the past. He read from a teleprompter, kept the off-the-cuff comments to a minimum and had a more focused message.
Trump tends to pack a lot of topics into his rallies but Tuesday, he focused his message on the economy, terrorism and his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Trump spoke for about 30 minutes to a crowd of 2,000 people at HPU, most of which were college students. He talked about last weekend's terrorist attacks in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota, saying an improved immigration system is a national security issue.
He said in the past, the United States has defeated Nazism, Fascism and Communism. He says now is the time to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.
Trump also brought up Clinton's controversial statement where she said half of Trump's supporters can be placed into what she called "a basket of deplorables." Trump said Clinton talks worse about his supporters than she does about terrorists.
"She calls the patriotic Americans who support our campaign, many of them cops and soldiers, deplorable and irredeemable. Has she ever talked that way about radical Islam or those who oppose and murder women and gays overseas? No," said Trump.
Trump said more needs to be known about people trying to immigrate to the United States from known terrorist nations. He added that travel to these known nations needs to be monitored.
"We want to make sure we are only admitting people into our country who love our country. My highest duty as president is to protect our citizens and to uphold the constitution of the United States."
Trump spent a large portion of his time talking about the economy. He said his economic plan can be summed up in what he calls "3 beautiful words" - jobs, jobs, jobs.
He says he's going to renegotiate our trade deals, cut unnecessary regulations and lower taxes.
"We will rebuild our roads our bridges our tunnels our highways, airports, schools and hospitals. American cars will travel the roads. American planes will soar the skies and American ships will again patrol the seas," said Trump. "And it’s about time."
Trump didn't offer specifics but suggested his resume should be the greatest insurance that what he says he will accomplish. He says he's spent his life creating "thousands and thousands of jobs."