United States President Donald Trump has vowed to “totally destroy” the Islamic State and rebuild the US military as part of measures to keep the country safe.
“Here’s the bottom line. We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening,” Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Florida, nearly a month after taking oath.
“We’ve allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing,” he claimed.
Trump also touched on familiar rhetoric, saying the US does not “win anymore”.
“Instead of peace, we’ve seen wars that never end and conflicts that never seem to go away. We don’t fight to win. We fight politically correct wars. We don’t win anymore. We don’t win at trade. We don’t win in any capacity. We don’t win anymore. We’re going to start winning again. Believe me,” he said.
Trump said he has directed the defence community, headed by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis “to develop a plan to totally destroy IS,” and begin plans for “the great rebuilding” of the United States military.
“We will pursue peace through strength. Our military is badly depleted. We make the best equipment anywhere in the world. We’re going to start using our best and most modern equipment,” he said.
Trump said he wants to build safe zones in Syria and other places so immigrants can stay there and live safely.
“We were left a mess like you wouldn’t believe. But we’re going to build safe zones. We’re going to have those safe zones,” he said.
“We want people to come into our country. But we want people that love us. We want people that can cherish us and the traditions of our country. We want people that are going to be great for our country. We don’t want people with bad, bad ideas. We don’t want that,” he said.
He said he has also started taking steps to bring back jobs to the country and revive the fledging economy.
Trump, a billionaire himself, lashed out at the “so-called global elite”, saying they have done very well for themselves, leaving working families with shrinking wages.
“We have the chance...to pursue real peace, real stability and real prosperity. We want to secure our borders and protect our workers. To rebuild our military and our infrastructure. To fix our schools and restore safety to our neighborhoods. To bring hope and opportunity to our inner cities,” he said.
The Republican, who in the run-up to the presidential elections was accused of sexually harassing women, also said he wants to ensure a “level playing field for all women in the workforce.”
Image: US President Donald Trump speaks during his "Make America Great Again" rally at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
