AP Photo Clinton to play Atlantic City card against Trump at campaign stop

Seeking to underscore Donald Trump’s failed business record in the very heart of his onetime casino empire, Hillary Clinton will campaign Wednesday in the washed-out seaside town of Atlantic City, an aide said.

Clinton will speak in a depressed town where Trump made his name in the 1980s and early 1990s: But today, Trump Plaza and Casino is shuttered, and the Trump Marina Hotel Casino was sold at a loss five years ago. The Trump Taj Mahal, which still bears the presumptive Republican nominee’s name, is now owned by Carl Icahn.


An aide said Clinton is expected to bear down on Trump’s record of stiffing contractors and laying off hundreds of workers while at the same time enriching himself. An investigation by The New York Times earlier this month found that Trump’s Atlantic City casinos, plagued by massive debts and minimal revenue, were failing long before the neglected city began its long slide into decline.

Clinton's trip also does double duty as a recrimination of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose name has recently emerged as a top contender for Trump’s running mate. Christie battled state and local lawmakers to take control of the struggling city. The Republican mayor of Atlantic City called Christie’s plan to take over a “fascist dictatorship.” Meanwhile, Christie's approval rating in his home state has reached an all-time low, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, showing New Jersey voters disapprove of his performance on the job 64 percent to 29 percent.

Clinton is expected to hold up her economic vision in contrast to Trump’s record, noting that she is seeking to build an economy that works for everyone, while Trump has sought over the course of his career to benefit himself at the expense of everyone else.

She will highlight how he restructured his debts to enrich himself while investors, contractors and working people suffered, an aide said, previewing the campaign stop.

Clinton will arrive in Atlantic City fresh off her first joint rally Tuesday with President Barack Obama in North Carolina, which is expected to provide a major boost for her campaign.