Democratic US presidential frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday said that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump would send the US economy back into recession, warning his “reckless” approach would hurt workers still trying to recover from the 2008 worldwide economic downturn.
Clinton’s address in Ohio, one of the most important battleground states, sought to define Trump as little more than a con man, whose ignorance and ego would tank the global economy, bankrupt Americans and risk the country’s future.
“Every day we see how reckless and careless Trump is. He’s proud of it,” Clinton said. “Well, that’s his choice. Except when he’s asking to be our president. Then it’s our choice.”
Photo: Bloomberg
The speech was similar to one earlier this month in San Diego, in which Clinton tried to undercut Trump’s foreign policy credentials. This time, at an alternative high school in Columbus, she questioned whether the business tycoon has the temperament to guide the economy and repeatedly pointed to his business record as evidence of how he would treat small businesses and working families.
“Just like he shouldn’t have his finger on the button, he shouldn’t have his hands on our economy,” Clinton said.
Her speech included stinging one-liners, including a takedown of Trump’s best-selling books.
“He’s written a lot of books about business, but they all seem to end at Chapter 11,” she said, in an allusion to the US bankruptcy code.
Trump responded on Twitter as Clinton delivered her address, writing: “How can Hillary run the economy when she can’t even send e-mails without putting the entire nation at risk?”
He appeared to be referring to Clinton blending her personal and official e-mails on a homebrew server in her house, while she was US secretary of state.
The businessman later appeared to embrace one of Clinton’s attack lines, writing: “I am ‘the king of debt.’ That has been great for me as a businessman, but is bad for the country. I made a fortune off of debt, will fix U.S.”
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Clinton was “the last person qualified” to talk about improving the economy, pointing to “eight years of disastrous [US President] Obama policies.”
Clinton used Trump’s own statements to undercut his economic credentials, citing remarks he made that the US could sell off assets, default on its debt and that wages are too high.
She also repeated a comment he made that pregnant employees are an “inconvenience.”
Clinton said financial markets often “rise and fall” on comments by presidential candidates. Suggesting the US could default on its debt could cause a “global panic,” she added.
She also seized on a report released on Monday by Moody’s Analytics which found Trump’s plans would lead to a “lengthy recession,” costing nearly 3.5 million US jobs.
The analysis by Moody’s Mark Zandi, a Clinton donor and former economic adviser to Republican Senator John McCain’s 2008 campaign, predicted Trump’s approach would swell the federal debt as the US economy becomes more isolated by less trade and cross-border immigration.
Trump has pointed to trade as a major difference with Clinton, saying last week that her support of past trade deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, has cost the country “millions of jobs.”
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