Elizabeth Warren brands Donald Trump a 'small, insecure moneygrubber' who will 'never be president'

Trump, in turn, called Warren 'Pocahontas' at a fundraiser that same day

Elizabeth Warren has increasingly stepped up her attacks against Trump since he became the presumptive nominee ElizabethforMA/YouTube

Elizabeth Warren pulled no punches in her latest attack on the presumptive GOP nominee, who she called a “small, insecure moneygrubber” who will “never be President of the United States”.

Speaking at the Centre for Popular Democracy’s annual gala, the Massachusetts Senator took her rhetorical barbs, normally found on her Twitter page, to the stage and criticised Mr Trump for past remarks he made in anticipation of the housing collapse.

“Donald Trump was drooling over the idea of a housing meltdown,” Ms Warren said, “because it meant he could buy up a bunch more property on the cheap.

“What kind of a man does that? Root for people to get thrown out on the street? Root for people to lose their jobs? Root for people to lose their pensions? … A man who will never be President of the United States.”

Mr Trump explained to the Globe and Mail in 2007 - just before the 2008 US housing crisis - that he expected to make more money should a collapse occur.

“People have been talking about the end of the cycle for 12 years, and I'm excited if it is,” the New York real estate mogul said. “I've always made more money in bad markets than in good markets.”

The Senator’s remarks come after the Hillary Clinton campaign focused on Mr Trump’s apparent excitement for the 2008 housing crisis in a California stump speech earlier that day, as the former Secretary of State pivots toward the general election.

“Donald Trump said when he was talking about the possibility of a housing-market crash before the Great Recession, he said, ‘I sort of hope that happens’,” Ms Clinton told the crowd. “He actually said he was hoping for the crash that caused hard-working families in California and across the country to lose their homes.”

Although, the Clinton campaign denied coordination between the candidate and Ms Warren in an appearance on CNN’s New Day.

“Well I don't think it is about coordination,” said Joel Benenson, senior strategist of the Clinton campaign.

Mr Trump did not take kindly to attacks from the Democrats. During his first campaign fundraiser held in New Mexico - rocked by numerous protesters - he called Ms Clinton a “low-life” for using his words against him in a similar campaign ad aired earlier that day.

“I’m a businessman, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” he said, defending his remarks.

He also focused on Ms Warren - whom he had previously referred to as "goofy" and a "goofus" - calling her “Pocahontas”, an allusion to her Native American ancestry. He also criticised her Senate record.

“She is probably the senator that’s doing just about the least in the United States Senate,” he said. “She’s a total failure.”

“She said she was an Indian,” he added, echoing attacks Ms Warren received during her 2012 Senate campaign against Scott Brown. “She said because her cheekbones were high, she was an Indian, that she was Native American.”

Ms Warren has not officially endorsed a Democratic prior to the party choosing a nominee - a spot that Ms Clinton has all but secured - she has become more focused on Mr Trump as the July Democratic National Convention looms.

But Democrats are beginning to expend their efforts on a unified message against Mr Trump, whose campaign ruptured the Republican party. And Ms Warren, whose expertise rests in the US financial sector, is taking the fight to Mr Trump’s doorstep - whether or not she endorses Ms Clinton, and without appeasing speculation that she will share the Democratic ticket.

“Now that he’s sewn up the Republican nomination, Donald Trump is dropping the pretense. Now he’s kissing the fannies of poor, misunderstood Wall Street bankers,” she said.

“But the American people are a whole lot smarter than Donald Trump thinks they are. The American people are not looking for a bait and switch.”