Hillary Clinton swung hard at Donald Trump in an economic-policy speech in MI on Thursday, saying the Republican nominee’s trade policies are based on “fear”.
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Trade is one of the most hotly contested economic issues between the Democratic and Republican nominees.
“I can provide serious, steady leadership that can find common ground and build on it based on hard but respectful bargaining”, she said. “I just don’t think insults and bullying is how we’re going to get things done”. In short, there’s a disconnect between Ms. Clinton’s protestation that, unlike Mr. Trump, she does not fear global competition and won’t “rant and rave or cut ourselves off from the other side of the world” – and her actual policy proposals.
Clinton hit him with her now-familiar line about making his suits and ties overseas and said before he can make America great again he needs to ‘actually make great things in America again’.
Clinton said she would expand the Child Tax Credit, which is now available to families making less than $130,000 a year and capped at $1,000 per child.
The Democratic nominee isn’t expected to use her speech to come out with any major new policies. She explained how she’d enforce her policy and added that she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
“I oppose it now, I’ll oppose it after the election, and I’ll oppose it as president”, she said, while also noting that the United States should not cut itself off from the rest of the world.
She may not rant and rave, but she does want to create a new trade “prosecutor” to deal with nations that purportedly cheat the United States, as well as exact financial penalties from USA firms that move production overseas.
And for all the Reagan nostalgia on display at the DNC, Clinton concluded her indictment of Trump with a swipe at Reaganomics, calling the GOP nominee’s agenda a combination of the “failed theory of trickle-down economics with his own addition of outlandish Trumpian ideas that even Republicansreject”. Then she reiterated her opposition to the TPP in the strongestterms she’s ever used on that subject.
“There are companies that were left hanging because he refused to pay their bills”, she said.
Clinton also attacked Trump for one of his proposals she termed the “Trump loophole”, which would allow wealthy citizens and corporations to pay less than half the current tax rate on their income. Trump has said he won’t release them until after an IRS audit is complete. Tax returns filed by the Clintons have been made public, in some form, for every year back to 1977. Her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, will release the last 10 years of their tax returns within days, according to a source close to Clinton. The source spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss the plans in advance. This leaves supporters of the 12-nation tariff-slashing deal clutching to the thin hope that she does not really mean what she says; but her distinction between “after the election” and “as president” implied that she would not even countenance approval of the TPP by a lame-duck Congress if she wins on November 8.
At an appearance in Miami Beach, Florida, hours before Mrs Clinton’s speech, he said his rival “wants to tax and regulate our economy to death”.
Futuramic makes rockets, she said.
Trump also continued to develop a theme that Clinton lacks stamina and energy. Ten minutes, let’s get out of here.
Outside analyses have generally given better grades to Clinton’s economic plan than Trump’s.
Trump cited his family’s history in the industry and regaled the crowd with anecdotes of his father Fred’s homebuilding exploits. And he remembered Fred Trump’s forays into home building.
Democrats said such comments were further evidence that Mr Trump was undisciplined and unprepared for the presidency.
The campaign also announced nine additional member of his economic advisory team on Thursday. He publicly named his economic advisers last week.
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Also on the list is Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, who has helped raise money for Trump’s campaign.
