Gettysburg: USRepublicanpresidential candidate Donald Trump promised on Saturday to foila proposed deal for AT&T to buy Time Warner if he wins the Nov.8 election, arguing it was an example of a "power structure"rigged against both him and voters.
Trump, whose candidacy has caused ruptures in his party,listed his policy plans for the first 100 days of his presidencyin a campaign speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near the siteof a Civil War battlefield and a celebrated address by PresidentAbraham Lincoln.
But he also defiantly raised personal grievances, describinghow, if elected, he would address them from the White House in away he said would benefit Americans.
Moments after promising Americans that he represented ahopeful break from the status quo, he promised to sue nearly adozen women who have come forward in the last two weeks toaccuse him of sexual assault, calling them liars.
And he added a new threat to his repeated castigation ofU.S.media corporations, which he says cover his campaignunfairly to help Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
"They´re trying desperately to suppress my vote and thevoice of the American people," Trump, who often rails againstmedia outlets and journalists covering his events, toldsupporters in his speech.
Trump has not provided evidence forhis assertion that the election would be rigged."As an example of the power structure I´m fighting, AT&T isbuying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve inmy administration because it´s too much concentration of powerin the hands of too few," Trump said.
Telecommunications company AT&T Inc has agreed inprinciple to buy Time Warner Inc, one of the country´slargest film and television companies, for about $85 billion andan announcement could be made as early as Saturday.
Trump also said he would look at "breaking" up theacquisition by Comcast Corp of the media company NBCUniversal in 2013."Deals like this destroy democracy," he said in explaininghis apparent deviation from the traditional Republican positionthat seeks to minimize the taxation and regulation of Americancompanies.
Amazon.com Inc, the online retailer, should also bepaying "massive taxes", Trump said, reminding voters that Amazonchief executive Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post, anewspaper whose coverage Trump dislikes.
Trump, a wealthy New York building developer and televisionstar, acknowledged in a debate with Clinton on Oct.9 that hehad used investment losses to avoid paying taxes.
The New YorkTimes reported on Oct.1 that Trump´s declared loss of $916million in 1995 was so large that he could legally have avoidedpaying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.
Although Trump on Saturday described his plans at least inpart as a response to his belief such organizations had treatedhim unfairly, he argued that less wealthy voters had evengreater cause to worry.
"When a simple phone call placed with the biggest newspapersor television networks gets them wall-to-wall coverage withvirtually no fact-checking whatsoever, here is why this isrelevant to you," he said.
"If they can fight somebody like mewho has unlimited resources to fight back, just look at whatthey could do to you, your jobs, your security, your education,
your health care.
"Trump, who has said he may not accept the election´s outcomeif he loses, is trailing Clinton in most polls - although he hasnarrowed the gap according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released onFriday.
Clinton maintained her commanding lead inthe race to win the Electoral College, however, and claim theU.S.presidency, a Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project
poll released on Saturday showed.
The speech was billed by his campaign as major outlining ofhis policies and principles.Many of the policy ideas Trumplisted on Saturday were familiar, not least his promise to builda wall on the border with Mexico to deter illegal immigration.
Trump has bluntly said that Mexico will pay for the wall, anidea the Mexican government has scoffed at.He tweaked hislanguage on Saturday, saying the United States would fully fundthe wall with the understanding that Mexico would reimburse thecost.
He also proposed a new mandatory minimum sentence of twoyears in federal prison for anyone caught re-entering thecountry after deportation.Trump reiterated his promises to usetariffs to discourage American companies from shiftingoperations abroad, to repeal the Affordable Care Act and toincrease spending to improve infrastructure.