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White House rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump staged dueling rallies in crucial battleground Florida, with the Republican billionaire zeroing in on the Obamacare health overhaul as a job-killing, wallet-busting "monster."
With just two weeks before the November 8 election, polls showed Democrat Clinton -- who is vying to become America's first female president -- dominating nationally and looking for a resounding mandate to govern the bitterly divided country.
Early voting began in Florida on Monday, an urgent reminder that candidates have little time left to make their case in the country's third most populous state, one with a wide mix of constituencies, including numerous retirees, Latinos and Bible Belt whites.
The Republican nominee, determined to ride out the controversies hobbling his campaign, made a pitch to Florida's elderly voters by assailing a sharp rise in health insurance premiums expected next year under President Barack Obama's signature health care reform.
"It's just blowing up," the 70-year-old real estate mogul said at a golf course he owns in Doral, Florida, vowing to "repeal and replace" Obamacare if elected.
"You will have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost and it's going to be so easy," Trump promised a rally in Sanford, Florida a few hours later.
At a third stop, in Tallahassee, he assailed the "stupid" government officials "who rammed this monster down our throats."
"Job-killing Obamacare is just one more way that our system is rigged, believe me," Trump said, and Clinton "wants to keep it."
Poll averages show that the former secretary of state, who turns 69 Wednesday, is ahead in Florida by 3.1 percentage points, and nationally by 5.4 points, according to RealClearPolitics.
(AFP)
