Clinton attacks Trump economic proposal

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a rally at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. AP Photo

KISSIMMEE, Florida — Hillary Clinton offered a simple reply to Donald Trump’s economic address Monday: “Don’t let a friend vote Trump.”

At a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, Clinton said the plans Trump outlined earlier in Detroit would push the country back into recession, warning that his plans benefit the rich and do little to create jobs or boost the economy.

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“His tax plans would give super big tax breaks to large corporations and the really wealthy,” Clinton said, characterizing the proposals, which include substantial tax cuts, as “trickle-down economics.”

“You know that old saying: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” she said.

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Clinton countered with her own economic proposals, saying she wants to invest in public works projects and more educational opportunities and will tax top earners to pay for her plans. She is expected to speak to the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday.

“I have said throughout this campaign I am not going to raise the taxes on the middle class, but with your help we are going to raise it on the wealthy,” said Clinton.

At a rally later in the day in Kissimmee, Florida, Clinton continued her criticism, saying that Trump “hasn’t offered any plans on infrastructure besides building a wall and having Mexico pay for it.” She also stressed her commitment to small businesses, asking “would you rather have a president who says you’re fired or you’re hired?”

Earlier Monday, Clinton toured a brewery as a way of highlighting her commitment to small businesses. She plans to campaign in Miami Tuesday, as part of a two -day tour through battleground Florida, home of 29 electoral votes.

Clinton is focusing on jobs and the economy at campaign events. Aides say they hope to build on polls showing Clinton gaining ground on economic issues, which have made up the core of Trump’s campaign message.

“We are not interested in economic plans that only help the top 1 percent,” Clinton said in St. Petersburg.

Clinton is putting a heavy focus on Florida with travel and television advertising. President Barack Obama narrowly won the state in 2012. At her Kissimmee event, she pledged to support Puerto Rico, saying she would do all she could to put it “back on a path of prosperity.”

While there, Clinton also plans to meet with health professionals combatting the Zika virus. She said she would meet with people on the “front line of Zika” on Tuesday.

“Washington cannot keep ignoring the needs of the families of Florida,” Clinton said.

The Republican-controlled Congress left Washington in mid-July for a seven-week recess without approving any of the $1.9 billion Obama requested in February to develop a vaccine and control the mosquitoes that carry the virus. Abortion politics played a central role in the impasse.