Hillary Clinton Mocks Donald Trump Over Bankruptcies
Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trump over his bankruptcies on Tuesday. She has also been attacking his economic plans.
Trump has written a lot of books about business—but they all seem to end at Chapter 11.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 21, 2016
Clinton’s tweet about Chapter 11 references the bankruptcy code. Hillary Clinton also referenced Donald Trump’s bankruptcies while visiting a high school in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We can’t let him bankrupt America like we are one of his failed casinos,” Clinton said, according to NPR. “We can’t let him roll the dice with our children’s futures.”
Donald Trump has used the Chapter 11 bankruptcy code to reorganize his businesses four times in total, according to PolitiFact. Donald Trump argues this is a smart business move where debts can be relieved.
“I have used the laws of this country… the [bankruptcy] chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, for myself, for my employees, for my family,” Trump said during a Republican debate in August.
Trump’s Plaza Casino and Hotel, the Trump Marina Hotel Casino, and the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City have all been shut down. The companies went to bankruptcy court four times before closing. Stock and bond holders for the companies lost a total of $1.5 billion, according to the New York Times. Trump himself, however, made millions from the casinos.
.@realDonaldTrump, only someone who’s never actually faced the consequences of his mistakes would brag, “I play with bankruptcy.”
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 21, 2016
Hillary Clinton’s campaign also launched a website on Tuesday called Art of the Steal. The website is dedicated to questioning Trump’s business record and portraying him as someone who is involved in shady business practices.
“Over the years, he intentionally ran up huge amounts of debt on his companies and then he defaulted,” Clinton said Tuesday. “Hundreds of people lost their jobs. Shareholders were wiped out. Contractors — many of them small businesses — took heavy losses. Many went bust. But Donald Trump? He came out fine.”
Clinton also attacked Trump’s economic proposals on Tuesday. She criticized his statements on the minimum wage and his reluctance to support paid family leave, according to Business Insider. Clinton said Trump would run up the national debt so much that there would be no way to pay it off.
“Even if we sold all of our aircraft carriers and sold the Statue of Liberty, and even if we let some billionaire turn Yosemite into a private country club, we still wouldn’t even get close,” Clinton said. “That’s how much debt he’d run up. Maybe this is what he means when he says ‘I love playing with debt.’ Maybe someone should tell him that this is not a game.”
Clinton also slammed Trump for not releasing his tax returns, and she insinuated he may be avoiding it because he “isn’t as rich as he claims.”
“Just like he shouldn’t have his finger on the button, he shouldn’t have his hands on the economy,” Clinton said.
Clinton questioning Trump’s financial prowess comes after a shocking report showing that Trump’s campaign has far less cash-on-hand than Clinton’s.
The Federal Election Commission revealed Monday that Trump’s campaign has $1.3 million available, compared to Clinton’s $42 million. Clinton also has a Super PAC called Priorities USA that has an additional $52 million. Trump has a Super PAC that has roughly $500,000.
“I spent $55 million of my own money to win the primaries. 55, that’s a lot of money by even any standard,” Trump said on NBC’s Today show on Tuesday, according to CNN. “I may do that again in the general election.”
Trump is a billionaire, so he could conceivably inject millions into his campaign at any time, but he has yet to do so. There are also two pro-Trump groups that have not yet revealed their fundraising totals.
One problem for Trump is that he spent much of his campaign self-funding and receiving small donations from random donors, so he has not put together a major fundraising network yet.
[Photo by J.D. Pooley/Getty Images]
