ATLANTIC CITY -- Speaking in the shadow of the shuttered Trump Plaza casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Hillary Clinton warned Wednesday that Donald Trump's "shameful" history as a casino owner here is a symbol for he shouldn't be president.

"What he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he will do if he wins in November," Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said of Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Clinton also took a shot at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of Trump's top adviser and a possible running mate, suggesting he's to blame for the city's current troubles.

"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 moving again," the former U.S. secretary of state told the hundreds who gathered to see her speak.

Clinton visited the distressed Jersey Shore gambling resort to deliver a speech highlighting the five bankruptcies Trump's casino companies filed when the billionaire businessman owned up to four gambling halls here between 1984 and 2009.

"Isn't he supposed to be some kind of amazing businessman?" Clinton asked as he she spoke next to the faded building that once housed Trump Plaza, which closed in 2014. "It's fair to ask since he is applying for a job: What in the world happened here?"

Clinton argued that Trump was a scam artist in the city, making millions off his bankruptcies while paying back contractors little of the money they were owed.

She walked to the stage with Marty Rosenberg, the former owner of Atlantic Plate glass, who was hired to work on the Trump Taj Mahal more than 20 years ago. Rosenberg told the crowd Trump owed him more than $1 million but paid about half in a settlement.

"Donald Trump made a promise to me, my family, and to the people of Atlantic City," he said." If you do a good job, in a timely manner, you will be paid an agreed upon, agreement. This promise went unfulfilled."

Shortly after Clinton's speech, Trump released a statement defending his time in Atlantic City, saying "it is an effective and commonly used practice in business to use bankruptcy proceedings to restructure a business and ultimately save jobs."

Trump added that he created "thousands of jobs and made a lot of money in Atlantic City, which was what, as a businessman, I am supposed to do for my company and my family -- and as president I will make America rich again."

Earlier in the day, Trump fired off a series of tweets, saying he showed "great timing" by leaving the city just before it cratered.

Critics say he was actually forced out in 2009 after his company's fifth bankruptcy. And records show two of the bankruptcies Trump's companies filed were in years when Atlantic City gambling revenue was rising, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Trump also blamed the city's current problems on local Democratic officials, saying they made "all the wrong moves."

Atlantic City has seen four casinos close in recent years amid increasing competition from neighboring states, leading its tax base to fall by 70 percent.

Christie recently signed a bill giving the city's leaders until October to present a five-year economic plan before the state takes over the local government.

But Democrats point the finger at Christie, noting that since 2010, the state has controlled the city tourism district and also had a state monitor in the city.

"I find it very disingenuous that Donald Trump would blame the Democrats for what has been happening in Atlantic City when we have a Republican governor who's his sidekick that has basically failed at every attempt to do anything in Atlantic City," city council president Mary Small, a Democrat, said before Clinton's speech.

Clinton's campaign also released a video Wednesday knocking Trump's Atlantic City record.

New Jersey Republican Chairman Samuel Raia released a statement before Clinton's speech saying it's "not surprising" she visited Atlantic City a day after the FBI sharply criticized her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The agency, though, did not recommend criminal charges against Clinton.

"She's going to need more than card tricks to convince Americans that she was doing anything but gambling with our nation's security by using a secret server as secretary of state," Raia said.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.