Donald Trump used the word ‘rape’ to describe America’s trade deficit with China during a rally in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Sunday night.
The Republican frontrunner, who has lashed
out at ‘politically correct’ speech in the past, told supporters: ‘We
cannot continue to allow China to rape our country. And that’s what
they’re doing.’
While the bombastic billionaire has often
attacked the U.S.-Chinese trade deficit, the Fort Wayne rally marks the
first time in recent history he has chosen to use the word ‘rape’ to
describe it.
While the current frontrunner lauded Tyson
as a ‘strong guy’, Ted Cruz went on the attack, saying: ‘I don’t think
rapists are tough guys. I think rapists are weak, they’re bullies and
they’re cowards.’
Addressing the crowd in Indiana ahead of
the state’s primary on Tuesday, Trump added: ‘We’re going to turn it
around. And we have the cards, don’t forget it.
‘We’re like the piggy bank that’s being robbed. We have the cards. We have a lot of power with China.’
In a familiar tone to his previous
speeches, Trump then went on to say he didn’t blame China for the
deficit, but laid the blame with America’s leaders who he branded
‘grossly incompetent’.
Trump has accused China, among other
countries, of ‘killing’ the U.S. on trade, saying they have deliberately
devalued their currency to make sure export markets favor them.
The trade deficit is a measure of the
value of goods America exports to China, versus the value of goods
coming back the other way.
While the U.S. shipped around $9million
worth of goods to China per month throughout 2015, China returned an
average of $40million worth per month, according to the United States
Census Bureau.
Over the course of last year that led to a
trade deficit in excess of $365million, while the total this year has
already reached almost $60million.
Trump is widely expected to win Indiana, a
state once led by Ted Cruz, after a poll released on Sunday showed him
with a 15-point lead ahead of voting.
However, Cruz has vowed not to give up on
Indiana, saying he is ‘barnstorming’ the state in a campaign bus with
his wife ahead of polling.
A resounding win for Trump would put him
in prime position to secure close to the required 1,237 delegates ahead
of the Republican convention, giving his candidacy a clear head-start in
subsequent rounds of voting.
Acknowledging this, Cruz has described
Indiana as a ‘crucial’ battleground for his campaign, though stopped
short of calling it a ‘must-win’.
Trump is courting 49 per cent of voters with Cruz on 34 per cent, and John Kasich on 13 per cent.
0 Comments