Throughout the various scandals and controversies of the Trump presidency, one thing he has consistently been able to count on for a positive approval rating is the economy.
This is an unusual thing to brag about in the middle of a deadly pandemic in which several million Americans are out of a job and in danger of being evicted. Clearly, the pandemic economy isn't that great. Albeit, the pandemic was an outside force. Trump definitely could have done A LOT more to reign it in and get it under control as other countries have done, saving the economy at the same time.
But the initial crash during the start of the pandemic, probably would have occurred to some extent either way as businesses were forced to shut down for public health. Trump prolonged the virus in attempt to reopen the economy sooner and get it back to the "best in the World" status.
Was it ever the best, though?
The economic growth that Trump brags about started under the Obama administration, following the recovery after the 2008 financial crisis.
As this graphic from BBC shows, even prior to the pandemic, shown by the orange bars, Obama had points when his economy was actually better than Trump's economy. According to BBC, Obama actually saw a 5.5% average economic growth in mid-2015 whereas Trump's highest average growth was 2.5% annual.
As you can see here (also from BBC) after 2008, Obama's stimulus plan sent the economy headed in the right direction and Trump merely inherited, then destroyed this progress by failing to get COVID-19 under control.
These are talking point that both Former Vice President Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris have used on the campaign trail and in debates. But these are accusations that the Trump administration likes to shake off as "fake news." Let's see if we can make it a little more concrete for them.
Trump increased the deficit as a result of his tax cuts on the wealthy plan
When Biden announced he wanted to reverse the Trump tax cuts, Wall Street backed this idea
The monthly trade deficit has gotten larger since Trump took office
Trump is working to lower the poverty line which would disqualify a million families from receiving assistance
Trump's policies have consistently benefited the wealthiest Americans while leaving everyone else to suffer. Additionally, Wall Street still supports Joe Biden and he has failed to improve the deficit, a GOP trademark. So what HAS he done?
He's helped the wealthiest, in hopes they will invest in the economy and this will trickle down to every day Americans. It hasn't worked.
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