In the middle of a pandemic, with unemployment above Great Recession levels, Trump told the unemployed that having their benefits cut isn’t a hardship.
Trump said when asked why he supports cutting unemployment benefits, “t’s not a hardship. This is the money that they need. This is the money they want and this gives them a great incentive to go back to work. So, this was much more than was originally agreed. The $600 was a number that was there and as you know, there was difficulty with the $600 number because it really was a disincentive.”
Video:
Trump tells unemployed people that having their benefits cut is not a hardship. pic.twitter.com/Agcw01xMaI
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— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 8, 2020
Trump is saying that it is not a hardship to the unemployed to have their benefits cut, but he is also saying that he is cutting benefits in the hope of forcing people to go back to work out of financial desperation.
The problem with the Republican logic of cutting benefits so that people go back to work is that many of the unemployed have no jobs to go back to. Currently, there are four or more unemployed people for every job opening, so people can’t just go back to work.
If your job is gone and you can’t get a new one, a rich president who has only ever worked for his daddy has no clue what your life is like.
Trump’s press conference, even with a studio audience, was a disaster.
The President continues to show that he can’t help Americans with their problems, because he doesn’t understand them, and he doesn’t care.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association