White House contenders clash over foreign policy

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton traded wins with their chief rivals on Tuesday and attacked each other’s foreign policy views as the 2016 presidential contest turned into a clash over who could best deal with the threat of Islamic extremism.

Thu, 24 Mar, 2016 - 00:00

While both frontrunners scored victories in the night’s biggest prize of Arizona, Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders won caucuses in Utah and Idaho and Republican Ted Cruz claimed his party’s caucuses in Utah.

The victories kept Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump from dominating another election night, but they both maintained a comfortable lead in the race for delegates who will choose each party’s nominee at national conventions in July.

Long queues and high interest marked primary elections across the three Western states as the world grappled with a new wave of bloody attacks in Europe.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blasts at the airport and a metro train in Brussels that left dozens dead and many more wounded.

“This is about not only selecting a president, but also selecting a commander-in-chief,” Mrs Clinton said in Seattle as she condemned Mr Trump by name and denounced his embrace of torture and hardline rhetoric aimed at Muslims.

“The last thing we need is leaders who incite more fear.”

Mr Trump, in turn, branded Mrs Clinton as “Incompetent Hillary” in an interview with Fox News as he discussed her tenure as secretary of state.

“Incompetent Hillary doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” the billionaire businessman said. “She doesn’t have a clue.”

Mrs Clinton — and Mr Trump’s Republican rivals — questioned the Republican frontrunner’s temperament and readiness to serve as commander in chief, and condemned his calls to diminish US involvement with Nato.

Addressing cheering supporters in Seattle, Mrs Clinton said the attacks in Brussels were a pointed reminder of “how high the stakes are” in 2016.

“We don’t build walls or turn our back on our allies,” she said, in an apparent reference to Mr Trump’s call to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Mr Cruz seized on Mr Trump’s foreign policy inexperience while declaring that the US is at war with the Islamic State group.

“He doesn’t have the minimal knowledge one would expect from a staffer at the State Department, much less from the commander in chief,” Mr Cruz told reporters. “The stakes are too high for learning on the job.”

Mr Trump said he supported Mr Cruz’s surveillance proposal “100%.”