Donald Trump touted his populist appeal during his campaign rally Saturday evening in Fredericksburg, Virginia, telling a room packed with supporters, “I am your voice!”
“This campaign is about giving a voice to those that don’t have one…I am your voice,” Trump told his supporters on Saturday, speaking from a teleprompter, which has become a new norm for the real estate mogul. “I’m an outsider.”
“I’m fighting for you,” he continued. “Hillary Clinton is the throwback from yesterday. Our campaign is about creating a new American future.”
“I’m not a politician, thank goodness!” Trump stated, separating himself from his opponent. “I have no special interests telling me what to do. I have no donors telling me what to do. I’m my donor. I have no lobbyists telling me what to do. I’m going to do what’s right for you.”
“My only interest is you the American people,” he added.
One Associated Press reporter disagreed, calling the New Yorker out on Twitter, arguing that Trump isn’t funding his own general election campaign. Trump, who has been attending fundraisers throughout the general election, has said he is raising money for the Republican Party.
“This campaign is about giving a voice to those that don’t have one…I am your voice,” Trump continued. “My opponent is the corporate defender of a totally rigged system and of a totally failed status quo.”
Trump also took time to address the veterans, as they’re a major part of the population in Virginia, telling them that “government is letting you down very badly right now.”
“Virginia voters are very concerned by the hollowing out of jobs in the coal industry, of the decline of America’s military,” Trump’s Virginia state chairman Corey Stewart previously explained to Breitbart News. “There are over 800,000 veterans in Virginia. They’re very concerned about the VA and the lack of adequate healthcare for veterans.”
Trump also criticized President Obama for the $400 million that was used to secure the release of American hostages.
“Our president lied to us. He lied to us!” Trump charged, referencing recent news that the State Department confirmed that the $400 million payment made to Iran was on condition of the release of the prisoners. However, the administration has said the payment was in reference to a long standing dispute dating back many decades.
State Department spokesman John Kirby stated:
We deliberately leveraged that moment to finalize these outstanding issues nearly simultaneously. With concerns that Iran may renege on the prisoner release, given unnecessary delays regarding persons in Iran who could not be located as well as, to be quite honest, mutual mistrust between Iran and the United States, we of course sought to retain maximum leverage until after American citizens were released. That was our top priority.
Prior to the campaign rally, Trump met with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department.