Clinton to portray Trump economic plans as handouts for rich

DETROIT – Hillary Clinton is expected to sharply attack Donald Trump in her first full rejection of his economic plans on Thursday, ripping into her Republican rival’s policy agenda as little more than proposed government handouts to benefit the super wealthy – and his own interests.

The Democratic presidential candidate, who frequently boasts about her many policy plans, isn’t expected to introduce any major new ideas to improve the country’s economy in her afternoon address. Instead, she’ll use her platform at a manufacturing company in Warren, Michigan, to undercut Trump’s approach. She’ll also play up her focus on job development, public works projects and tax policy, say aides who previewed the speech.

Her appearance follows Trump’s own speech on the economy, which he also delivered in Michigan on Monday. But his remarks were quickly eclipsed by the latest in a series of controversial statements which Trump has spent much of past two weeks trying to clarify.

Just hours before her address, Trump unleashed another round of attacks on President Barack Obama, calling him the “founder” of the Islamic State militant group – and Clinton, its co-founder.

Clinton is trying to take advantage of the turmoil in the Trump campaign, pitching herself to independents and moderate Republicans, and building on her momentum after party conventions.

She intended to try to make the case that Trump’s agenda would benefit him and his wealthy friends, and to characterize his plans as an update of “trickle-down economics,” according to her campaign.

Also look for Clinton to argue that Trump’s drive to cut taxes on certain business income would benefit many of his companies.

Clinton is also planning to release her 2015 tax returns in the coming days, as she seeks to keep the pressure on Trump, who has not provided his. Trump has said he won’t release them until an IRS audit is complete.

A source close to Clinton said she would soon release the return, supplementing the decades of returns she and her husband have already made public. Her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine and his wife will also release the last 10 years of their returns. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans in advance.

Trump outlined a revamped economic package in his speech Monday. Clinton attempted to draw contrasts when she spoke at a rally Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa. She said that according to independent analysis “under my plans, we’ll create about 10.4 million new jobs. Under Donald Trump’s so-called plans, we will lose about three and a half million jobs.”

Clinton has proposed a large public works project, pledged to roll back tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and said she would not raise taxes on the middle class. She has promised more money for education, a higher federal minimum wage and increased support for small businesses.

“We’re going to stand up for small business and help create more of them to create more good jobs here and across America,” Clinton said in Iowa.

Trump wants to cut taxes for businesses and workers, and go with a three-bracket income tax system that’s close to what House Republicans have recommended. With few exceptions, Trump has provided more of a philosophical basis for an economic plan than specifics, although he did call for greater child care deductions for families.

At an appearance in Miami Beach, Florida, hours before Clinton’s speech, Trump said his rival “wants to tax and regulate our economy to death.”

“If you were a foreign power looking to weaken America, you couldn’t ask for anything better than Hillary Clinton as your president,” he said, addressing a group of home builders.

Both candidates chose tightly contested Michigan – specifically, the Detroit area – to make their updated economic pitches. The former manufacturing powerhouse has been hard hit by the decline of the automobile industry and the real estate market.

Trump has struggled to keep the focus on his economic proposal week after fresh controversy with his comments about the Second Amendment. At a rally Tuesday, Trump falsely said his Democratic rival wanted to revoke the right to gun ownership. He then said there was no way people would be able to stop a President Clinton from stacking the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices, before adding, “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is – I don’t know.”

Democrats said such comments were further evidence that Trump was undisciplined and unprepared for the presidency. Trump insisted he was never advocating violence against Clinton.