Trump pledges big US military expansion

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He also wants US generals to come up with a plan to defeat the self-styled Islamic State (IS) in his first 30 days in the White House.

Recent polls show the race for the presidency has narrowed.

Democrats and even some Republicans have painted Mr Trump as unfit to serve as US commander-in-chief but he has made up some ground on rival Hillary Clinton.

In his speech he called his vision for the US military "peace through strength".

Live updates from Clinton and Trump at veterans forum

It was back to the future for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who in delivering his national security speech often sounded more like Ronald Reagan than the outsider who spent much of his primary campaign railing against his partys foreign policy elite.

Mr Trump even cribbed one the former presidents favourite phrases, "peace through strength", when explaining why he was in favour of across-the-board increases in US military spending.

There were flashes of the old Donald Trump, of course - such as when he railed against nation-building and military entanglements in the Middle East. Those lines were as much a criticism of Republican former President George W Bush and his neo-conservative advisers as President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. (Never mind the fact that Mr Trump did, in fact, support the Iraq War and military intervention in Libya.)

For the most part, however, Mr Trumps speech was one that the conservative establishment could embrace. Reagan made appeals to the military and security-minded voters a key part of his winning electoral strategy in the 1980s. It appears Mr Trump is betting that he can do the same.

That Mr Trump says he will ask US military leaders how to defeat IS appears to be a change of approach. Here is what he said previously:

"I know more about Isis (Islamic State) than the generals do. Believe me" - at a rally in November 2015

"I have a great plan. Its going to be great. They ask: What is it? Well, Id rather not say. Id rather be unpredictable" - on his strategy for defeating IS in April this year

US generals "dont know much because theyre not winning" - to CBS in June

"Immediately after taking office, I will ask my generals to present to me a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy Isis" - his comments on Wednesday
Donald Trump Hillary Clinton
Trump pledges big US military expansion