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Hillary Clinton holds rally at JCSU, speaks exclusively to Channel 9

By Erica Bryant, wsoctv.com, Mark Barber, and Paul Boyd
By Erica Bryant, wsoctv.com, Mark Barber, and Paul Boyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hillary Clinton's latest campaign visit Thursday was at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte and she told the crowd why she thinks Donald Trump isn't fit to be president.

Following the rally, Clinton spoke exclusively with anchor Erica Bryant who asked the candidate about family, one of Charlotte's biggest issues and the economy.

"My opponent's only plan, as judged by independent experts, would cost America 3 1/2 million jobs," Clinton said. "His only tax plan would give him a huge tax break and not help anyone else."

Clinton said she's focused on creating jobs in the Carolinas and also passionate about other issues like the controversial House Bill 2.

“HB2 is a plain act of discrimination, everyone knows it,” Clinton said. “They see it.”

Bryant asked if people who are transgender be able to use the restroom that they identify with.

“That can be worked out, it doesn't need discriminatory legislation,” Clinton said. “It’s being worked out all across the country. This was a naked political act of bigotry.

Clinton admitted she made a mistake using a private email server during her time as secretary of state, and said it's not something she would ever do again.

But she insists nothing was compromised and that the exchanges were not marked confidential.

“None of them had what usually is supposed to appear a header that says ‘top secret,’ ‘secret’ or ‘confidential.’ That just was not on any of the documents,” she said.

With two months left until the general election, Clinton told Bryant she now has two more sparks of motivation, her grandchildren.

“Charlotte already is calling me grandma, Aiden is 3 months old,” Clinton said.

She calls spending time with them the best experience of her life and a constant reminder of why she's running for president.

“It's not just my own grandchildren that I want to take advantage of the America dream,” Clinton said. “I want that for every single child in North Carolina and across our country.

Polls show the race is tight despite the fact that Democrats have given more attention to the Carolinas, outspending time and money.

A campaign staffer said the true results of their long-term investment will start to show up in the next 30 days.

Clinton admitted she made a mistake using a private email server during her time as secretary of state, and said it's not something she would ever do again.

But she insists nothing was compromised and that the exchanges were not marked confidential.

“None of them had what usually is supposed to appear a header that says ‘top secret,’ ‘secret’ or ‘confidential.’ That just was not on any of the documents,” she said.

Hillary Clinton talks voter ID law, HB2 during Charlotte rally

Hillary Clinton arrived in Charlotte in full campaign mode on Thursday and spoke to hundreds of supporters at a rally.

The former secretary of state started the event at Johnson C. Smith University by supporting a court's recent decision to strike down North Carolina's voter ID law.

"One thing you can do about that is change your governor in November," Clinton said.

She promised to make college more affordable and then focused on national security by repeatedly targeting Donald Trump.

Clinton suggested he's "living in his own celebrity reality TV program" and spoke to her rival directly.

"You know what, Donald? This is real reality. This is real people. This is real decisions that have to be made for our country," she said.

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Several students from JCSU snapped pictures with the presidential candidate at the end of the rally.

"For Hillary to be here was a great thing and important for us to hear her message for higher education and for jobs," student Bernard Smith Jr. said.

Student Andrea Pennix said she came to the rally, "because it's an historic event. I'm probably never going to able to see her when she becomes president."

But with the latest polls showing a tight race in North Carolina and across the country, volunteers for Clinton aren't taking victory for granted.

"I'm here, glad to be in North Carolina, because it's a battleground state, and I'm volunteering almost daily, because this state is so pivotal for this election," Kathy Mercer said.

Analysts agreed North Carolina voters will see plenty of both campaigns in the days ahead.

The first presidential debate takes place in less than two weeks, and Election Day is only 60 days away.

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