FLINT, Mich. (AP) – The economy was taking center stage Sunday as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders prepared to debate one another in a city in tough shape long before residents learned their drinking water was tainted with lead.
The Democratic candidates were set to face off in devastated Flint just two days before Michigan’s presidential primary, and were eager to highlight their differences on economic policy: Clinton claiming only she had a “credible strategy” for raising wages and Sanders hammering at her past support for trade deals that he says had “disastrous” consequences for American workers.
In recent days, Clinton has laid out a plan for a “clawback” of tax benefits for companies that ship jobs overseas, using the money to encourage investment in the United States.
Sanders wrote in Sunday’s Detroit Free Press that nowhere are his differences with Clinton, a former secretary of state and senator, stronger than on trade. The Vermont senator renewed his criticism of her support for the North American Free Trade Agreement and normalized trade relations with China.
“Not only did I vote against them,” he said, “I stood with workers on picket lines in opposition to them. Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton sided with corporate America and supported almost all of them.”