During the first presidential debate, Hillary Clinton attributed the economic collapse to — “in large part” — “tax policies that slashed taxes on the wealthy, failed to invest in the middle class, took their eyes off of Wall Street, and created a perfect storm.” | Getty Trump economic advisers blame Clintons for 2008 financial crisis

Donald Trump’s economic advisers blame Bill and Hillary Clinton for the 2008 financial crisis, according to a statement posted to the Republican presidential nominee’s website Friday.

During the first presidential debate, Hillary Clinton attributed the economic collapse to — “in large part” — “tax policies that slashed taxes on the wealthy, failed to invest in the middle class, took their eyes off of Wall Street, and created a perfect storm.”


Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross on Friday highlighted Clinton’s “absurdist claim,” noting it was “awarded ‘Three Pinocchios’ by the staunchly pro-Clinton Washington Post for purveying ‘rhetorical poppycock.’”

Indeed, while acknowledging the difficulty in summarizing “vast economic changes in a single sentence,” the Post noted that “Clinton’s effort to pin much of the blame on Bush’s tax cuts is rhetorical poppycock.”

But while the Post pointed to a government commission’s report that cited a combination of factors, including the housing bubble collapse, low interest rates, little regulation and “toxic” mortgages, Trump’s economic advisers suggested the Clintons were culpable.

“It is an inalterable and unavoidable fact that Bill and Hillary Clinton played outsized roles in America’s mortgage meltdown,” they said, citing additional reports from National Review, Time magazine, the Washington Times and The Nation to support their case.

Navarro and Ross listed the Community Reinvestment Act rewrite, Glass-Steagall Act repeal and Bill Clinton’s signing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act as examples of why the Clintons are to blame.

“Hillary Clinton played an equally major role in causing the financial crisis as an obstructionist Senator,” they said, crediting the Clintons’ alleged “pay-to-play fundraising practices” for influencing Hillary Clinton’s role as a U.S. senator.

They said Clinton was a major benefactor of donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which said also donated to the Clinton Foundation.

“Given the culpability Bill and Hillary Clinton in the financial crisis, it is surprising candidate Clinton is now absurdly blaming tax cuts for the 2007 financial crisis,” they wrote. “This latest Clinton messaging only puts a spotlight on the fact that Bill and Hillary Clinton played major roles in causing the financial crisis.”