By Britt Nelson

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday for President, thus leaving his supporters abandoned while Republican challenger Donald Trump surges in national and state presidential polls.

“Today, I endorsed Hillary Clinton to be our next President. I know that some of you will be disappointed with that decision. But I believe that, at this moment, our country, our values, and our common vision for a transformed America, are best served by the defeat of Donald Trump and the election of Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said during a joint campaign appearance with Clinton in New Hampshire. “To have all of the work we have done in elevating our progressive ideals be dashed away by a complete Republican takeover of Washington – a takeover headed by a candidate that demonizes Latinos, Muslims, women, African Americans, veterans, and others – would be unthinkable … I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next President of the Unites States … I am proud to stand with her today.”

Sanders was not a distant second during the primary season collecting 1,846 delegates compared to Clinton’s 2,205 pledged delegates. Clinton is the presumptive nominee for President for the upcoming Democratic National Convention set for July 25 in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention gets underway July 18 in Cleveland, Ohio, with New York billionaire Trump the presumptive nominee. Later this week Trump is expected to name his vice presidential pick. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich are the top candidates among those Trump is considering for his running mate, according to Real Clear Politics.

Clinton and Trump are statistically tied in national and state presidential preference polls with Trump gaining ground in all-important swing states. Polls show Trump is 2 points ahead in Pennsylvania, tied in Ohio with 41 points for Trump and Clinton, while in Florida Trump is 3 points ahead of Clinton, according to RCP.

Trump is surging in the polls mostly due to last week’s announcement by FBI Director James Comey that Clinton would not face any charges related to her use of a private email server kept in her New York home. Comey said Clinton’s actions related to her private email system were “extremely careless.”

The issue of Clinton’s honesty is apparently resonating with Democratic, Republican and Independent voters.
An NBC News poll taken after Comey released his findings showed 82 percent of likely voters believed it was inappropriate for Clinton to use an unsecured email server to handle classified, sensitive national security information. Also, 56 percent of voters surveyed thought the FBI should have recommended prosecution for Clinton.

Clinton has repeatedly maintained her claim that she did not send or receive classified information on her email system; however, she has said it was a “mistake.”

But Comey said the FBI found at least 110 emails that did contain classified information at the time it was sent and or received. Clinton also apparently lied under oath during last year’s Benghazi hearings conducted by a U.S. Senate committee and this matter remains under investigation. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, were killed in Benghazi, Libya, during Clinton’s time as secretary of state under President Obama.

Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, in a statement released July 13, said Clinton is unfit to handle classified information.

“The FBI investigation suggests that Clinton may have lied to Congress and did lie to the American people about what she did. She claimed that there was only one device. She used multiple,” Ryan said. “She claimed all work-related emails were returned to the State Department. Thousands were not returned. She claimed that there were no emails marked ‘classified’ on her server, but Comey said the FBI found multiple emails marked ‘classified.’ We will never know how far-reaching the damage is because her legal team deleted many more thousands (of emails) that can never be recovered.”

Needless to say, Trump is using all of this information about Clinton’s alleged lies to show American voters that Clinton simply cannot be trusted to handle the requirements of president of the United States.

Trust is something that once lost cannot be regained, no matter how many millions of dollars Clinton will spend to convince voters that she should be the next President.

About the author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for thePalatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.