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Clinton, Kaine launch campaign's last 100 days from Temple University

Hillary Clinton kicked off her general election campaign and bus tour through battleground states Friday at a rally in Philadelphia by comparing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to a king, while also arguing that the historic nature of her candidacy showed the goodness and potential of America.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, kick off a post-DNC bus tour across Pennsylvania with a rally at Temple University on July 29, 2016.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, kick off a post-DNC bus tour across Pennsylvania with a rally at Temple University on July 29, 2016.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

Hillary Clinton kicked off her general election campaign and bus tour through battleground states Friday at a rally in Philadelphia by comparing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to a king, while also arguing that the historic nature of her candidacy showed the goodness and potential of America.

"Nobody who looked like me was thought to be possible to run for president" when the country was founded, Clinton told a few thousand supporters at Temple University, a day after she became the first woman to accept the presidential nomination of a major U.S. party.

"No one who looked like Barack Obama was thought to be possible. But contrary to Donald Trump, I believe every time we knock down a barrier in America, it liberates everyone in America," she said to resounding applause.

The rally followed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, and kicked off a three-day bus tour with running mate Sen. Tim Kaine through Pennsylvania and Ohio, states that Obama carried twice but that Trump hopes to flip to the Republican side with his populist message.

Although news broke Friday of a hack into computer services used by Clinton's campaign, and Trump gave a speech criticizing Clinton in Colorado, Clinton and Kaine stuck to the theme of their tour, focusing on jobs and the economy at stops in Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Harrisburg.

"We're going to get the economy going again, creating more good jobs," Clinton told a small crowd Friday afternoon in Hatfield, at the factory of K'nex, which makes linking construction toys.

Clinton and Kaine and their spouses toured the factory floor before speaking on a stage where interns had built Clinton's signature "H" out of K'nex materials.

They spoke about importance of educational toys that promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers, and investment in American manufacturing - K'Nex makes its toys in its Hatfield factory. She vowed to spend $10 billion on infrastructure, manufacturing, and clean energy in her first 100 days in office.

"We're going to make a big investment in infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and clean-energy technology," Clinton said before criticizing Trump's business record.

Outside the factory, a crowd of about 80 people stood in the sun for hours for a glimpse of the entourage. In the end, they settled for about 10 seconds of waving at the blocked bus windows and imagining Clinton waving back from inside.

The campaign buses then took the Pennsylvania Turnpike to an outdoor evening rally outside the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg.

There, former President Bill Clinton, who played the role of a quiet spouse for the rest of the day, introduced Kaine and his wife.

"I feel like I have a very good idea about how a president can create jobs," Hillary Clinton later said, referring to her husband's two terms as president.

About a half-dozen Trump supporters stood outside the rally for Clinton. Ernest Wallander, 65, came from Mechanicsburg, Pa.

"I don't particularly like Mrs. Clinton, she's corrupt," Wallander said, adding that he thinks Trump can win Pennsylvania this year.

Trump made a campaign stop this week in Scranton, where he vowed he'd "have jobs flowing in, believe me."

In a statement Friday, Trump's campaign blasted Clinton's "globalist agenda" and "radical amnesty plan" it said would "take jobs, resources, and benefits from the most vulnerable citizens of the United States and give them to the citizens of other countries."

In Trumpian fashion, the New York businessman and former reality TV star also lashed out at his opponent on Twitter. "Crooked Hillary Clinton mentioned me 22 times in her very long and very boring speech" Thursday night, he wrote. "Many of her statements were lies and fabrications!"

At Temple, Clinton, rejecting Trump's assertion that he "alone" can fix the nation's problems, recounted how the Founding Fathers established a democracy because "they didn't want one person, one man, to have all the power like a king."

She and her husband, along with Kaine and the Virginia senator's wife, Anne Holton, took the stage to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." They stood in front of signs that promoted one of her general election themes: "Stronger Together."

Mayor Kenney and other Democrats spoke first. "Philadelphia's a tough city," Kenney told the crowd, "and we need a tough president like Hillary Clinton."

When Clinton spoke, she thanked the city and its leaders "who pulled such a great convention together, who were so gracious, welcoming, and hospitable."

Her supporters from around the region came early Friday to see her. A line stretched down North Broad Street and wrapped around Cecil B. Moore Avenue before the doors opened at 10 a.m.

Leslie Milner, a nurse from Buckingham, Bucks County, said she slept through her alarm Friday morning after staying up late all week to watch convention speeches on television.

She, her 16-year-old daughter, and her husband rushed to catch a train into the city and were standing on the floor of McGonigle Hall hours before Clinton was to appear.

"All my neighbors are Republican, and I say, 'You can't vote for [Trump],' " she said. "I honestly don't understand why the race is so close."

Bill Askoy, 17, of Upper Darby, said that even though he can't yet vote, he supports Clinton - especially for her proposal to raise the minimum wage.

Askoy, who is Muslim, said he was offended by Trump's call for temporarily barring Muslims from entering the country in response to terrorism.

"It was a little disgusting," Askoy said. "Muslims come here to be Americans."

Shelly Sullivan, 58, of Ardmore, said she was "looking forward to talking to people who are on the bubble" because they think Pennsylvania will vote safely Democratic.

Neighbors and friends, Sullivan said, have suggested they might vote for an independent candidate. Her message to them: "We need your vote."

"She's for everybody," added Sullivan, who works in sales and was wearing a blue shirt that said "Madame President."

"I want Democratic Supreme Court justices," Sullivan said.

One reason that people like Sullivan find their friends on the fence: Polling shows that many voters do not trust Clinton.

Kaine had begun to attest to Clinton's "trustworthiness and character" when he was interrupted.

"We trust Hillary!" a man shouted, and the crowd roared.

aseidman@phillynews.com

856-779-3846@AndrewSeidman

Staff writers Michaelle Bond and Olivia Exstrum contributed to this article, as did Karen Langley of the Harrisburg Bureau.