Gingrich: Middle Class Have Been the ‘Big Losers’ in Pandemic; Says $2,000 Checks Will ‘Help’ Struggling Americans

As Congress weighs to increase coronavirus stimulus checks to individuals from $600 to $2,000, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday joined President Donald Trump’s call to increase the payout in the coronavirus stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

On FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” Gingrich acknowledged the importance of balancing the federal budget but said that middle-class Americans have been the “big losers” from the shutdowns put in place to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in Democratic states. He added that $2,000 checks would “help” the average American struggling from the “mess” created by some governments.

“This is like being in World War II. We have a disaster in this country made dramatically worse by Democratic governors in places like California, Illinois, New York who have been crushing small business, killing the restaurant industry,” Gingrich outlined. “You know, the big losers have been middle-class Americans. The big winners have been the very rich and government employees who got paid for not doing any work, including millions of members of the teachers union who didn’t do any work, but got … collectively billions of dollars for sitting around.”

He continued, “So, I think if you are an average everyday person, you look at all of this mess, and you think the government has clearly not done its job, particularly the state governments led by Democrats, and $2,000 will help me. I think that’s what’s going on.”

“[T]his is not about deficit spending. That train is long gone. We’re in the middle of a disaster. I think the average American deserves some help,” Gingrich later added.

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