'Reckless' Donald Trump spars with Hillary Clinton on economics, tripped up by own party officials

New York: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticised Democrat rival Hillary Clinton in an economic policy speech on Monday in Detroit that sought to pick off some of her supporters, while Clinton dismissed her rival’s plans as a repackaging of old Republican ideas. The sparring was expected, but Trump faced a nasty surprise: a new round of resistance from within his party that threatened to stall his effort to move beyond the uproar he caused last week.A group of 50 Republican officials, all of whom have served Republican presidents from Richard Nixon to George W Bush signed an open letter saying that he is “not qualified” to be president and warning that, if elected, “he would be the most reckless President in American history”.The letter offers a withering critique of the GOP nominee, saying he “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president. The signatories declare their conviction that he would be dangerous and would put at risk America's national security.[caption id="attachment_2943720" align="alignnone" width="825"] Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves after delivering an economic policy speech to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. AP[/caption]Some former national security officials involved with the letter wanted to wait until September to release their views but that the candidate’s behavior in recent weeks — from his comments on Nato inviting Russian intelligence to hack Clinton’s emails — galvanised them to move sooner.The letter comes at a time when Trump is trying desperately to reboot his presidential campaign to address worsening poll numbers and growing isolation from influential members of the Republican Party.According to political pundits, part of the issue for the New York businessman is that he has run his campaign much like his family business, with his grown children as "his top counselors and surrogates"."We are seeing friendly fire within the Republican Party because Trump has ignored and sometimes even insulted party stalwarts. He hasn't developed a strong link to the GOP. Now that he is going through a rough patch there's scant support to sustain him," said political analyst Jennifer Raskin.[caption id="attachment_2943732" align="alignnone" width="825"] A protester holds up a sign while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers an economic policy speech to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. AP[/caption]Veteran Republican strategist Dave Carney pointed out that "in modern presidential politics, this election is an outlier in terms of deterioration of support”.Trump with his trademark bluster tore into the letter-writers saying they share the blame for “making the world such a dangerous place”.“They are nothing more than the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power, and it’s time they are held accountable for their actions,” he said.Still, the letter offers a scathing assessment of Trump's inability to take advice, discipline himself, control his emotions and reflect before acting. "He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander-in-chief ,” said the letter.Even as the letter controversy played out, Trump fused his populist message in Detroit with a full embrace of policies on regulation, corporate taxes and energy production to try to please skeptics on the right.[caption id="attachment_2943722" align="alignnone" width="825"] A security guard stands guard as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers an economic policy speech to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday. AP[/caption]"Hillary would tax some small businesses by as much as nearly 50 percent," Trump told the Detroit Economic Club on MondayThe US media was quick to point out that Clinton has not released her full tax plan, but what she has said of her tax plans so far does not back this up. According to the Tax Policy Center and the Tax Foundation nearly all of Clinton's so-far proposed tax hikes would affect the top 10 percent of all taxpayers, particularly those who earn more than $5 million.Meanwhile, in St Petersburg, Florida Clinton fired back at Trump saying his tax proposals amount to traditional Republican “trickle-down economics”, that “will give super-big tax breaks to large corporations, just like him”.If Trump continues to slide in national polls and surveys of battleground states — the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found Clinton leading by 9 points — more Republicans will be emboldened to turn on him and even back Clinton, say strategists.