Clinton warns Trump's economic proposals would plunge US into recession

Hillary Clinton has launched new attacks on Republican rival Donald Trump, as she looks ahead to the US general election in November. Clinton slammed Trump's business practices in her latest speech and claimed his economic proposals would send the US economy spiralling into a recession.

"Liberals and conservatives say Trump's ideas would be disastrous," Clinton said during a campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday (21 June) according to a report by The Hill. "The Chamber of Commerce and labour unions. Mitt Romney and Elizabeth Warren, economist on the right, the left and the centre all agree: Trump would throw us back into recession."

"Trump would take us back to where we were before the crisis. He'd rig the economy for Wall Street again," she continued. "That will not happen on my watch, I guarantee you." Clinton branded Trump's tax plan and immigration policies, among others, as a bad move for the US economy.

She did not stop there. The presumptive Democratic nominee accused Trump of swindling investors, cheating employees, contractors and others during his business career. According to The Washington Post, Clinton said that what Trump considers to be his biggest asset—his background in business—is his biggest weakness. She noted the Trump is only out to benefit one person: himself.

"This is his one move," she said. "He makes over-the-top promises that if people stick with him, trust him, listen to him, put their faith in him, he'll deliver for them. He'll make them wildly successful. And then everything falls apart and people get hurt."

The speech is Clinton's first on policy during the general election season. The Washington Post also reported that while Trump fares well in polls - in which voters are asked which candidate would be better at dealing with the economy - he trails behind Clinton in national polling. A Gallup poll in June found 53% of voters would prefer Trump when it comes to the economy, compared to 43% who would prefer Clinton.

"You might think that because he has spent his life as a businessman, he might be better equipped to deal with the economy," Clinton told the crowd. "Turns out he's dangerous there too." According to The Hill, Clinton noted an analysis by Moody's that predicted the disastrous consequences of Trump's economic proposals.

"One of John McCain's former economic advisers actually calculated what would happen to our country if Trump gets his way. He described the results of a Trump recession: we would lose three and a half million jobs, incomes would stagnate, debt would explode, and stock prices would plummet. And you know who would be hit the hardest: the people who had the hardest time getting back on their feet after the 2008 crisis."

Clinton is set to follow up her speech in Ohio on Wednesday (22 June), with a presentation in another battleground state: North Carolina. Meanwhile, Trump is expected to speak on 22 June in what aides have claimed would be an attack on Clinton's credentials. He also launched a Trump-sized Twitter tirade in response to Clinton's speech.

In a statement release, Trump linked Clinton to the Obama administration's "catastropic" economic record. He also tweeted, "Hillary says this election is about judgment. She's right. Her judgement has killed thousands, unleashed Isis and wrecked the economy."