Politics & Government
Hillary Clinton Blasts Chris Christie, Donald Trump In N.J. Speech
The presumptive Democratic nominee hit her general election rival hard on his closed Atlantic City casinos.
Hillary Clinton slammed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and called out Donald Trump for his failed casinos in an Atlantic City speech Wednesday afternoon.
For the second day in a row, she did not address the FBI's findings of its investigation into her private email server. But the speech was one of her most scathing rebukes of Trump's business acumen yet and was peppered with shots at the maligned governor who has emerged as a serious vice presidential candidate for the real estate developer.
Speaking in front of the shut-down Trump Plaza casino, Clinton said that what Trump "did here in Atlantic city is exactly what he will do if he wins in November."
Find out what's happening in Ocean Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Clinton was standing just down the boardwalk from the Trump Taj Mahal, another shuttered Trump property.
Find out what's happening in Ocean Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
She took plenty of opportunities to draw attention to the closed casino that loomed behind her.
"You can just make out the word 'Trump' where it used to be written in flashy lights," Clinton said. "He had the letters taken down a few years ago. But his presence remains."
Clinton also singled out Christie, who has become something of a right-hand man for Trump, at least among mainstream politicians close to him, and could be his running mate in the fall.
"If your governor would start doing his job instead of following Donald Trump around, holding his coat, maybe we could really get New Jersey's economy going again," she said.
Trump, for his part, was ready with a statement firing back:
Trump press shop out with a quick statement in response to Hillary, defending his record in Atlantic City: pic.twitter.com/YwAX0M62XA
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) July 6, 2016
Trump's Atlantic City finances aren't exactly clear.
The New York Times did a deep dive on the subject a few weeks ago. It found evidence of Trump creatively shifting debt and liabilities around, while paying himself handsome salaries.
"A close examination of regulatory reviews, court records and security filings by The New York Times leaves little doubt that Mr. Trump’s casino business was a protracted failure," the story said. "Though he now says his casinos were overtaken by the same tidal wave that eventually slammed this seaside city’s gambling industry, in reality he was failing in Atlantic City long before Atlantic City itself was failing."
"He put up little of his own money, shifted personal debts to the casinos and collected millions of dollars in salary, bonuses and other payments," the story continued. "The burden of his failures fell on investors and others who had bet on his business acumen."
Trump has yet to release his tax returns, a standard practice among presidential candidates, which would clear up a lot of confusion about what actually happened between Atlantic City and his businesses.
Watch the full event from Atlantic City below (Clinton starts around the 24-minute mark):
Image via YouTube
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