Clinton tells supporters to ‘stage an intervention’ with Trump backers

by Jonathan Swan - 11/01/16 8:17 PM ET

Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that her supporters should “stage an intervention” with anybody considering voting for Donald Trump.

Addressing her supporters in Sanford, Fla., Tuesday night, the Democratic presidential nominee stirred up anger in the crowd by saying that her Republican rival had dodged income taxes for years.

{mosads}”I believe that most of us here have paid a lot more federal income taxes than Donald Trump has paid,” Clinton said.

“He took everything our great country has to offer. He scooped it up with both hands and then paid nothing to support us.”

“If you know anybody who’s thinking about voting for Trump,” she added, “Well, first of all, stage an intervention.”

Clinton paused and smiled.

“If they’ve ever paid a dollar in income tax, ask them whether they think it’s so smart for somebody to lose other people’s money, claim a loss and then not pay income taxes.”

Clinton, who leads Trump by an average of 2.2 percentage points nationally but is in a virtual dead heat in Florida, said Trump is the first major party nominee for president in 40 years who hasn’t released his tax returns.

She speculated about “the Russian business deals” that Trump might have and whether he’s “even given a penny” to charity. She referred to recent New York Times reports that suggest Trump used a “legally dubious” tactic to avoid paying federal income taxes for nearly two decades.

“And then he has the nerve to call our military a disaster,” she added. “To insult [prisoners of war], when he hasn’t paid a penny to support the people who put on the uniform of the United States of America.”

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton