Clinton tells New Yorkers: Sanders' ideas "just won't work"
NEW YORK -- Speaking at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, Hillary Clinton cast her opponent in the upcoming New York primary election as all talk -- and no action.
"My opponent and I share many of the same goals," Clinton said of Bernie Sanders, "but some of his ideas for how to get there won't pass. Others just won't work, because the numbers don't add up, and that means people aren't going to get the help that they need and deserve."
Clinton has repeatedly alluded to Sanders' plans as "pie in the sky" proposals, including his goal to provide free tuition at public college and universities. Sanders, campaigning in Wisconsin, said Tuesday he is simply "thinking bigger and bolder" than Clinton -- a line likely to reach voters here Thursday, when he is set to hold a rally in the Bronx.
"My opponent says we're just not thinking big enough," Clinton said, pre-empting the attack. "Well, this is New York. Nobody dreams bigger than we do, but this is a city that likes to get things done."
The event on Wednesday, the unofficial kickoff of her primary campaign in the state, was a homecoming of sorts for Clinton. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who served with Clinton in the Senate when she represented New York, introduced her and Renee Elise Goldsberry, one of the stars of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," performed the national anthem.
And in her remarks, Clinton said she was "once again," asking for New Yorkers' votes.
"We're gonna work for every vote in every part of this state," she said. "Because New Yorkers took a chance on me and I will never forget that."
She used the venue to highlight her role in the passage and reauthorization of the Zadroga Act, which provides healthcare for first responders affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11, as well as creating jobs and working on behalf of children.
"When I joined with parents and doctors and community leaders to take on the epidemic of children's asthma right here in Harlem, it wasn't about making a point, it was about making a difference," she said.
Earlier Wednesday, Clinton's campaign released a new television ad that it plans to air in New York that looks beyond the primary, and targets Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
"When some say we can solve America's problems by building walls," Clinton says in the ad, which features a shot of a billboard advertising Trump's new hotel in Washington, D.C. "Banning people based on their religion, and turning against each other, well, this is New York. And we know better."
At the Apollo, where many of her supporters sported pins that read "Hillary Trumps Them All," Clinton cast Trump's proposals as un-American.
"He wants to round up millions of Latino immigrants and kick them out of the United States," she said. "He wants to ban all Muslims from entering America...It's wrong and it goes against everything New York and America stand for."
In the run up to the New York primary, set for April 19, Sanders has worked tirelessly to close the gap with Clinton in the race for delegates. Clinton remains in the lead, and her campaign sees no path for Sanders to catch up. But there are 247 delegates up for grabs in New York, a number second only to California, which holds its primary in June.
Clinton, whose top strategist told reporters this week that she would campaign across the state "like a senator," will head to Purchase for another event on Thursday.