Donald Trump Promises Change in Gettysburg Speech: ‘Has to Come from Outside Our Very Broken System’

Donald Trump addressed the nation from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — not far from where President Lincoln delivered his famous address in 1863 — on Saturday afternoon, where he laid out his closing arguments ahead of the election in 17 days.

“President Lincoln served at at time of division like we’ve never seen before. It is my hope that we can look at his example to heal the divisions we are living through right now,” Trump stated, noting that he isn’t a politician. “When I saw the trouble our country was in, I knew I couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. Our country has been so good to me. I love our country and I felt I had to act.”

“Change has to come from outside our very broken system,” he added, touting that he is the candidate that can create change in Washington, D.C. He referenced a number of problems facing the country, including voter fraud — an issue Trump has discussed recently while on the campaign trail.

“According to Pew, there are 24 million voter registrations in the United States that are either invalid or significantly inaccurate,” Trump claimed.

He noted there are 1.8 million dead people registered to vote “and some of them are voting.” Trump also said that 2.8 million people are registered in more than one state to vote and that 14 percent of non-citizens are registered to vote.

“The system is also rigged because Hillary Clinton should have been precluded from running for the presidency of the United States, but the FBI and the Justice Department covered up her crimes,” Trump stated about his opponent, adding that Hillary Clinton is running against change.

“There’s nothing better or stronger than the American character,” he declared, asking voters to rise above the noise from what he calls a rigged system and rigged media.

The Republican nominee laid out his plan for his first 100 days in office if he is to become President of the United States, listing six measures he plans to execute in order to clean up special interests and collusion in Washington, D.C.

The six measures include:

1. A constitutional amendment to impose term limits on Congress
2. A hiring freeze on federal employees in various areas of government
3. A requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated
4. A five-year ban on executive government workers becoming lobbyists after leaving public service
5. A ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government
6. A complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections

Trump went on to discuss a variety of ways that he plans to change government spending, including canceling billions of dollars being sent to the United Nation’s climate change programs as well as canceling federal funding for sanctuary cities.

He promised an economic plan to benefit the American worker and tax reductions for the middle class.

The Republican nominee also touted his plan to restore government ethics, end Common Core education and illegal immigration, and repeal and replace Obamacare with health savings accounts.

Trump’s speech comes as two recent general election polls — LA Times/USC Tracking and IBD/TIPP Tracking — show him tied with Clinton.