ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, were both in Washington today. They were taking jabs at each other and trying to fire up key parts of their party's bases. Trump spoke to religious conservatives. A few miles away, Clinton addressed abortion-rights supporters. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Donald Trump likes to tout his support among what he often describes as the evangelicals. That's the crowd he addressed this afternoon.
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DONALD TRUMP: We want to uphold the sanctity and dignity of life.
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MCCAMMON: The event hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition and Concerned Women for America was a chance for Trump to firm up support among this key voting block.
It was particularly important for Trump who once declared himself very pro-choice. He seemed eager to reassure the crowd that his picks for the Supreme Court would line up with their values.
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TRUMP: And by the way these judges are all pro-life.
MCCAMMON: And the thrice-married billionaire praised marriage and family as the building blocks of success.
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TRUMP: The happiest people are the people that have that great religious feel and that incredible marriage, children...
MCCAMMON: Some of his most enthusiastic applause, though, came after a series of attacks on his Democratic rival, including her record as the former secretary of state.
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TRUMP: Hillary Clinton - or as I call her crooked Hillary Clinton...
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MCCAMMON: Trump painted the Clintons as deeply enmeshed in the establishment and beholden to donors and groups who've paid them speaking fees.
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TRUMP: These donors own Hillary Clinton. They own her. And Bernie Sanders was right about that.
MCCAMMON: Trump is coming off a week where he has struggled to unite his party. Leading Republicans criticized his comments about a federal judge presiding over the Trump University fraud lawsuit. Trump said the judge was treating him unfairly because of his Mexican heritage. Across town, Clinton picked up on that.
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HILLARY CLINTON: When Donald Trump says a distinguished judge born in Indiana can't do his job because of his Mexican heritage...
MCCAMMON: She said Trump's attacks go against everything we stand for.
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CLINTON: He does not see all Americans as Americans.
MCCAMMON: Clinton was making her case today in front of a loyal audience, members of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She argued the stakes in this election are high, especially for women.
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CLINTON: And we have to ask ourselves and you have to ask everyone you come in contact with - do we want to put our health, our lives, our futures in Donald Trump's hands?
MCCAMMON: That's a question both candidates are likely to keep asking voters in the coming months as each tries to paint their rival as someone not to be trusted. Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
