U.S. President Barack Obama says Republicans are attempting to impose a “radical vision” on the country and are promoting economic policies that “nearly destroyed” the U.S. financial system.

Mr. Obama spoke Tuesday at the annual meeting of The Associated Press in Washington. Appearing in full campaign mode, Mr. Obama said Republicans have “doubled down” on their “trickle down” economic approach.

“So we have tried this theory out and you would think after the results of this experiment in trickle down economics, after the results were made painfully clear, that the proponents of this theory might show some humility, might moderate their views a bit.”

President Obama called the Republican approach “a prescription for decline.”

“It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who is willing to work for it. A place where prosperity doesn't trickle down from the top but grows outward from the heart of the middle class.”

The president said the country is at “a make-or-break moment for the middle class” and that the choice between the two parties' competing visions has never been “so unambiguously clear.”

Mr. Obama criticized his likely Republican challenger Mitt Romney for supporting a $3.5 trillion budget proposal passed by the House last week. The legislation, proposed by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, aims to cut the federal deficit and reduce the size of government.

The direct criticism of Romney comes as voters in the eastern state of Maryland, the northern state of Wisconsin and the nation's capital head to the polls in the Republican presidential primary. Romney is expected is solidify his lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination with wins in each primary Tuesday.