An army of Hillary Clinton’s surrogates in battleground states will blast Donald Trump on Tuesday over his past statements about the housing market and his business record, according to a campaign aide.
About a dozen surrogates and local elected officials in Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and elsewhere will host calls, events and release statements focused on Trump’s response to the housing crisis that precipitated the economic recession.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), will be engaged in the efforts and Ryan will host a conference call with reporters at noon Tuesday to hammer home the message.
"You don't make America great by rooting for its economy to fail,” Ryan said in a statement. “While Hillary Clinton was proposing measures to ease the effects of the housing bubble on American homeowners before the crisis, Donald Trump was cheering on the market's collapse and reportedly peddling sub-prime loans so he could try to get even richer.
“It's a fundamental difference in the race that we'll continue to push: Donald Trump is only out for himself, at the expense of working families, while Hillary Clinton is fighting to raise wages and incomes.”
Clinton’s surrogates will tie the loss of jobs and family wealth in that period to Trump’s judgment in launching the now-defunct Trump Mortgages company during that period.
The Washington Post reported earlier this year that in 2005, Trump ignored growing warnings that the housing market was on shaky ground just before launching the mortgage company.
“How you react to the so-called housing bubble can be a barometer of your business personality,” he wrote in a September 2005 blog post. “Are you the type of person who takes advantage of positive situations when they present themselves, riding them out as long as they last?”
“Or do you heed every message of doom and gloom, avoiding risks that could be some remarkable opportunities?” he asked.
Clinton’s allies plan to highlight that Trump Mortgage approved subprime mortgages to unqualified borrowers. The mortgages were one of the key financial instruments linked to the crash.
They also plan to call attention to Trump’s statements in 2006 and 2007 — in the lead up to the housing crash in 2008 — saying that if the housing bubble burst, he “would go in and buy like crazy” in order to make money.
"If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know you can make a lot of money," Trump said in the 2006 audio book, "How to Build a Fortune,” according to CNN. "If you're in a good cash position -- which I'm in a good cash position today -- then people like me would go in and buy like crazy."
