Republican Donald Trump has characterised Barack Obama and Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton as the “co-founders” of the ISIL militant group.<br /><br /> He is ratcheting up his assertion that they are responsible for the rise of the militant group, as he wages war for the White House.<br /><br /> “Our government isn’t giving us good protection, our government has unleashed ISIS. I call President Obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of ISIS. They’re the founders,” Trump told supporters in Florida.<br /><br /> “In fact, I think we’ll give Hillary Clinton – you know if you’re in a sports team, Most Valuable Player, MVP. You get the MVP award – ISIS will hand her the Most Valuable Player award.”<br /><br /> Trump refused to take back the allegation, despite the urging of some of his allies to do so. <br /><br /> Clinton’s White House campaign described Trump’s remarks as a “false claim.”<br /><br /> Touring a factory in Michigan, Clinton has been setting out what she would do for the economy if elected president.<br /><br /> “The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us so my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Clinton.<br /><br /> Looking at recent opinion polls, Trump is losing ground to Clinton in the presidential race – she has an average lead of 7.7 percentage points.<br />
