Governor Dannel Malloy didn't hold back Monday, in the same way Donald Trump didn't hold back during his campaign stop through Connecticut Saturday.
"He’s a fraud, that's what he is," Malloy said about the Republican presidential candidate. "He's also a clown, that's what he is."
Trump spent several minutes criticizing Malloy and Democrats for their policies, and even mocked Malloy's first name, Dannel, which is a family name.
"Dan? Daniel? Danny?" Trump asked the crowd in Fairfield.
Trump placed the blame for General Electric leaving Fairfield after forty years as its headquarters squarely on Malloy's shoulders.
"How do you lose General Electric?" Trump asked the crowd of about 5,000 people. He continued, saying, "(Connecticut) is the least fiscally healthy state in the union and you just lost General Electric! Lots of luck folks!"
Malloy said Trump can't talk when it comes to fiscal health. He mentioned how he has a bad track record as a businessman and how his campaign closely aligned itself with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
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"(He's) 11 downgrades of his bond rating. Who's taxes are significantly higher than the state of Connecticut. Who has not seen the kind of achievement in education reform that we’ve seen in this state," Malloy said.
On the issue of General Electric, Malloy defended himself by arguing that GE's decision was a long time coming and there was writing on the wall. He didn't say whether particular policy choices could have kept GE in Connecticut.
"GE had twice as many employees in Massachusetts when they made that decision and let me point one other thing out, there are more GE employees working in Connecticut today than there were last year," Malloy said.
Malloy also said that had he recommended a $162 million incentive package to keep GE, similar to the one offered by Massachusetts and Boston, then "the howling would not have stopped this many months later."
It has been discussed by numerous sources that Malloy is on a short list for a job within the administration of a President Hillary Clinton. Trump slammed Malloy on that point as well.
"Listen to this! Connecticut! Dannel! Hey Dannel, get back here from Washington trying to get a job but he won't be able to because I wouldn't ever hire him so why is he wasting his time? Dannel!" Trump said over the weekend.
Directly responding to Trump's criticism of Connecticut's economic performance, Malloy said, "The reality is Donald Trump has gone state to state to state failing to recognize reality in trying to paint, I was going to say a rosy picture, but an orange picture when he’s president and that’s not going to happen."
