During an interview with WGAL News 8 on Monday, 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) responded to voters who say they think the economy was better during the Trump administration and liked his tax cuts by stating that Trump “left with 10 million people out of work, 9 million jobs closed, and we were in the middle of the global pandemic. I don’t think people want to go back to tens of thousands of Americans dying, businesses shut. Donald Trump brags about that. The reason people weren’t using gas was that they couldn’t leave their house because he botched the COVID recovery,” and that Trump is anti-union.
WGAL News 8 Reporter and host Barbara Barr said, “[P]olls show that many Americans and Pennsylvanians think the economy was better over the Trump administration and they liked his tax cuts, they helped everyone.”
Walz responded, “Well, the fact of the matter is is that he left with 10 million people out of work, 9 million jobs closed, and we were in the middle of the global pandemic. I don’t think people want to go back to tens of thousands of Americans dying, businesses shut. Donald Trump brags about that. The reason people weren’t using gas was that they couldn’t leave their house because he botched the COVID recovery, while he’s praising China, while he’s putting on tariffs. So, look, I think the focus is, Donald Trump wants to look to the past, we’re looking to the future. We’re looking for an opportunity economy, Donald Trump’s the one laughing about busting unions. Pennsylvanians know that if you can get into a good, union job and negotiate collectively, you can get into the middle class, not just to get by, but to thrive. And that’s the case we’re making.”
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