Hillary Clinton: Donald Trump would 'bankrupt America' like one of his casinos

Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, Clinton aiming her message directly at people struggling economically — many of whom have been drawn to the presumptive GOP nominee — arguing that Trump is a false prophet who will leave America hurting, just like he has done for countless of people during his business career.

"We cannot let him bankrupt America like we are one of his failed casinos," Clinton said in a speech that repeatedly used Trump's own words against him.

The speech, delivered in a critical swing state still struggling after the recent recession, was designed as the counterpart to one Clinton gave earlier this month in San Diego, California, bashing Trump on national security.

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Clinton said, What's hiding in Trump's tax returns? Maybe he paid a low tax rate, maybe he didn't give very much to charity, or maybe he isn't as rich as he claims

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"You might think that because he has spent his life as a businessman, he might be better prepared to handle the economy. it turns out, he's dangerous there, too," Clinton said. "Just like he shouldn't have his finger on the button, he shouldn't have his hands on the economy."

In a change of strategy — perhaps resulting from the ouster Monday of former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — Trump's campaign fired back at Clinton by sending multiple emails to reporters with detailed responses to her claims.

"How can Hillary run the economy when she can't even send emails without putting entire nation at risk?" Trump tweeted in response.

For Clinton's part, Tuesday's speech demonstrated less swagger and contained fewer zingers than the previous one, but she still trashed the man she repeatedly called "Donald" as a reckless cynic who cares only about himself.

"Everything seems to be a game for him," she said. "This is his one move: He makes over-the-top promises...and then everything falls apart and people get hurt."

In some ways, Clinton's message on Trump emulated the one Democrats' use to tarnish Mitt Romney in 2012: That he got rich by crushing people's' dreams and, that if given the reigns of power, would only seek to further enrich himself and his peers at the top of the economic ladder.

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Liberals and conservatives say Trump's ideas would be disastrous. The Chamber of Commerce and labor unions [agree], Clinton commented

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Trump's tax plan, Clinton claimed, would cut rates on hedge fund managers and give more to the 120,000 richest American families than to 120 million working families. "I did have to look twice, because I didn't believe it," she said of the statistic.

"Of course, Donald himself would get a huge tax cut under his plan. But we don't know exactly how much because won't' release his tax returns," she continued, underscoring her attempt to show that Trump's talk of looking out for the little guy is empty pandering.

Noting that every major presidential nominee in modern history has released his tax returns, Clinton wondered, "What's hiding in Trump's tax returns?" Maybe he paid a low tax rate, maybe he didn't give very much to charity, Clinton speculated, or "maybe he isn't as rich as he claims."

But Clinton added two twists to the playbook used against Romney. First, she said Trump is not even particularly good at making money. "He's written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at chapter 11," she said, pointing to the bankruptcies of his casinos and failures of companies like Trump-branded steaks.

Trump has said he is "going to do for the country what I did for my business," Clinton reminded her audience, and took it as an invitation to detail the low-lights of Trump's business career. "The United States of America doesn't do business Trump's way."

And second, Clinton sought to completely disqualify Trump by painting him as an exceptional threat to economy — one that even Romney himself can recognize. This goes beyond "typical political disagreements," Clinton said. "Liberals and conservatives say Trump's ideas would be disastrous. The Chamber of Commerce and labor unions [agree]."

She noted that The Economist's Intelligence Unit lists a Trump presidency as the third most dangerous threat to the global economy. "This is like nothing we've ever seen," Clinton said.

Finally, Clinton wrapped her entire argument into an assertion that Trump fundamentally does not believe in America and its people.

"Donald Trump never misses a chance to say Americans — he's talking about us — to say that Americans are losers and the rest of the world is laughing at us," she said, adding that Trump makes many of his own products in other countries. "Donald Trump believes in the worst of us."

Clinton did not dwell much on her own policies — she'll go into more depth on those Wednesday during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. Instead, she contrasted her general approach to that of Trump's.

"I actually sweat the specifics because they matter," she said, noting that presidents' words can move markets. "I have this old fashioned idea that if you're running for president, you should say what you want to do."