(Bloomberg) — Hillary Clinton went after Donald Trump during a speech Tuesday at Family Health Centers in Louisville, Kentucky, previewing her general election message by assailing him for having said wages are "too high."
"There are real differences between what I believe—what we believe—and what the presumptive Republican nominee believes," she said. "Donald Trump actually stood on a debate stage and argued that Americans are being paid too much, not to little. He's even talking about getting rid of the federal minimum wage and leaving it to the states, to the mercy of Republican governors who've already cut wages for state workers."
Clinton was referring to a November Republican debate when the New York real estate developer said, "Taxes too high, wages too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world." On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Trump said he was changing his position, which he didn't flesh out other than to say "people have to get more" wages.
Clinton's message indicated that she intends to highlight Trump's original position rather than his shift on the minimum wage. She said it's unfair to say that "families need to buckle down and tighten their belts" and called for more "family-friendly" policies. "In many places dog trainers are paid more than child care workers," Clinton said, drawing gasps from the crowd of health care workers.
The Democratic front-runner also went after Trump for proposing to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which she calls the ACA and many opponents call Obamacare.
"Donald Trump wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act," she said, also accusing Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin for "working hard to undermine" the state's state-based PPACA exchange, Kynect. "I am defending the Affordable Care Act because it is working. And if somebody has a better idea then of course we will listen to it."
