Appearing on stage for the first time with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday unleashed on onslaught of insults against Republican Donald Trump, mocking the businessman’s campaign slogan, his “goofy hat” and his policy prescriptions for the country.
Ms. Warren’s blistering attack at an event in Cincinnati comes as the Massachusetts senator and progressive hero has become the Democratic Party’s most vicious anti-Trump voice and a valuable asset for the Clinton campaign.
The two women whipped the Cincinnati crowd into a frenzy Monday morning and were in lock-step in their attacks on Wall Street, and their calls for debt-free college, an expansion of Social Security, major investments in infrastructure and other progressive priorities.
But Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Warren had their strongest words for Mr. Trump, and the senator not only bashed the businessman’s policies, she also openly mocked him.
“Donald Trump says he’ll make America great again. It’s right there, stamped on the front of his goofy hat. You want to see goofy? Look at him in that hat,” she said. Mr. Trump routinely calls Ms. Warren “goofy,” prompting the senator’s response.
“But when Donald Trump says, ’Great,’ I ask, ’Great for who, exactly?’ ” she continued. “For millions of kids struggling to pay for an education? For millions of seniors barely surviving on Social Security? For families that don’t fly to Scotland to play golf? When Donald Trump says he’ll make America great again, he means make it greater for rich guys just like Donald Trump.”
The Clinton-Warren appearance also is driving speculation that the senator will be chosen as Mrs. Clinton’s running mate. Ms. Warren reportedly is on Mrs. Clinton’s short list of potential vice presidential picks — a list that also includes Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Labor Secretary Tom Perez and other Democrats.
But no other Democrat is as beloved among progressives as Ms. Warren, nor have any other Democrats been quite as harsh in their attacks on Mr. Trump. The senator has built her political career on an anti-Wall Street platform, and she argues Mr. Trump will advance the wealthy at the expense of the middle class if elected president.
Mrs. Clinton has given few indications which way she’s leaning in the vice-presidential hunt. She did, however, offer unbridled praise for Ms. Warren.
“You just saw why she is considered so terrific and so formidable — because she tells it like it is,” Mrs. Clinton said. “I am very grateful for that introduction, but more importantly. I want to thank her fighting every single day for families like hers, families like yours, and millions of hard-working families. … No one works harder to make sure Wall Street never, never wrecks Main Street again.”
The two women also continued the concerted effort to tie Mr. Trump to Wall Street and to paint him as an enemy to the middle class and as an economic disaster for the country.
“Watch out — he will crush you into the dirt to get whatever he wants,” Ms. Warren said before turning to Mr. Trump’s past comments about making money off of the 2008 financial crisis.
“What kind of man does that?” she said. “What kind of man roots for people to lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose their life savings? I’ll you what kind of a man: a small, insecure money-grubber who fights for no one but himself.”
For his part, Mr. Trump took aim at Ms. Warren even before the Cincinnati speech began, again calling her “goofy” and an ineffective senator. He also took direct aim at Ms. Warren’s questionable claims about her Native American heritage.
“Crooked Hillary is wheeling out of the least productive senators in the U.S. Senate, goofy Elizabeth Warren, who lied on heritage,” Mr. Trump tweeted Monday.
Mr. Trump has routinely engaged in Twitter fights with Ms. Warren and responded to her various attacks. The Clinton campaign believes that proves Ms. Warren is perhaps the most effective Democrat in the country at annoying the Republican billionaire.
“I do just love to see how she gets under Donald Trump’s thin skin,” Mrs. Clinton said. “As Elizabeth made clear, Donald Trump proves every day he’s not in it for the American people. He’s in it only for himself, and Elizabeth reminds us of that every chance she gets.”
On the policy front, liberals say the budding Clinton-Warren alliance will help ensure Mr. Trump’s defeat in November while also moving the Democratic Party farther left on domestic issues.
“Elizabeth Warren campaigning with Hillary Clinton today is symbolic of a Democratic Party that is increasingly united around big, bold, progressive ideas like debt-free college, breaking up Too Big To Fail banks and expanding Social Security benefits instead of cutting them,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal advocacy group the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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