Trump makes campaign stop in Columbia for first time
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stopped in Columbia for the first time this campaign. He addressed a crowd of more than 2,200 people at the Koger Performing Arts Center on the University of South Carolina’s campus. The town hall was hosted by U.S. Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina. Just before the event, Trump officially filed with the state Republican party to appear on the First in the South primary ballot in February. The candidate fielded questions from Scott drawn from Midlands’ residents. One question addressed Trump’s tax plan, which will be released next week. “I think it’s going to make people happy,” Trump replied, “except for my hedge fund guys, who make millions of dollars and pay very little tax.” The candidate is no stranger to wealth. He’s paying for his own campaign. It’s a tactic, he says, that will free him of obligations to donors, allowing him to focus on giving the middle class the boost it needs. “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” Away from Main Street USA, Trump points to waste in Washington, found in what he says is a government made up of too many agencies. “The EPA would be one I would cut way way back, or cut entirely.” He also included the Department of Education as needing trimming, because, he says, it’s not functioning properly. Trump has never worked on Capitol Hill as an elected official. It’s a reality, critics say, that will hurt his ability to navigate foreign policy. When asked about how he would handle the ongoing crisis in Syria, he said he prefers to keep his plans to himself. He thinks that’s what the current administration needs to be doing. Though Trump says the root of the problem lies in a need to return to American pride. “Maybe we need spirit just as much as we need jobs, but we’re gonna bring ’em together and make our country great again.” And that’s exactly what this businessman is selling.
