WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks with members of the media at Westchester County Airport on Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. —AP

ESTERO, FLORIDA: Hillary Clinton is accusing Donald Trump of giving “aid and comfort” to Islamic terrorists, declaring his anti-Muslim rhetoric helps the Islamic State group and other militants recruit new fighters. Trump is insisting the US should “use whatever lawful methods are available” to get information from the Afghan immigrant arrested in this weekend’s bombings.

As Trump supporters at a packed rally in Florida shouted “Hang him!” the Republican presidential candidate mocked the fact that Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28- year-old US citizen originally from Afghanistan, would receive quality medical care and legal representation. “We must deliver a just and very harsh punishment to these people,” he said.

“These are enemies, these are combatants and we have to be tough, we have to be strong.” Both candidates moved swiftly to capitalize on investigations into a weekend of violent attacks - bombings in New York and New Jersey and stabbings at a Minnesota mall - casting themselves as most qualified to combat terrorism at home and abroad. Clinton touted her national security credentials at a hastily arranged news conference outside her campaign plane, accusing Trump of using the incidents to make “some kind of demagogic point.”

Key selling points Clinton and her team see her experience and what they say is her steady judgment as key selling points for her candidacy. On the campaign trail, she frequently invokes her role in the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, describing to voters the tense atmosphere in the White House alongside President Barack Obama at that moment.

But while much of the foreign policy establishment has rallied around Clinton, Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, promises to close US borders and vows to aggressively profile potential terrorists have fueled his presidential bid. On Monday, he called for tougher policing, including profiling foreigners who look like they could have connections to terrorism or certain Middle Eastern nations. “This isn’t just a matter of terrorism, this is also really a question of quality of life,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re only admitting people into our country who love our country.” — AP