Steyer Accuses ABC Anchor of Pro-Trump Bias for Citing National Poll
Americans bullish on the roaring Trump economy don’t know how bad they have it, according to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer.
Steyer, a billionaire who made his money on Wall Street and who rarely polls above 3 percent support nationwide, was interviewed Sunday by Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”
During the interview, Steyer lashed out at Raddatz for citing a poll in which Americans said they were pleased with the economy.
“Mr. Steyer, you say that you can take on Donald Trump on the economy. But the latest Quinnipiac national poll again released just this week says 70 percent of voters describe the nation’s economy as ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ So how do you convince them that a change is needed when they think they’re doing so well under Donald Trump?” Raddatz asked.
The poll in question also showed that 54 percent of those surveyed approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, although the totals registered a vast partisan gulf.
Ninety-seven percent of Republicans supported Trump while 81 percent of Democrats opposed him on the economy.
The poll also found that 59 percent of respondents said they are better off financially now than they were in 2016.
Steyer responded to Raddatz by saying nothing about the economy is as it seems.
“I think if you take a look at what he says, everything he says superficially sounds right but is actually a lie,” Steyer said.
“So when he says the economy is growing, I can show that, in fact, all the money’s going to rich people. When he says unemployment is low, which is true, I can show that the wages people are getting don’t support a family.”
“And when he says the stock market is up, these are his three big statistics, it’s largely because of the huge tax break he gave to big corporations, but it also is — doesn’t matter that much because most of the stocks — 85 percent of the stocks are held by the top 10 percent of the richest Americans,” Steyer added.
Raddatz then tried to get back to her original question, only to be slammed by Steyer.
“Well, I’m just saying to you, here we are on a show and you’re standing up for Mr. Trump’s version of the economy. And I’m telling you, what he’s saying is not true,” Steyer said.
When Steyer finally deigned to answer the question, his response was that the economy is failing most Americans.
“I can take him on on that because it has to be shown that this economy actually isn’t working for the vast bulk of Americans and this president is dangerous to them in terms of money and in terms of health care and in terms of retirement. That’s not being told. Democrats are going to have to take him on directly,” he said.
Steyer said his proposals include a 10 percent tax cut for everyone with an income under $250,000.
“I’m saying I’m going to declare a state of emergency on climate on the first day and that actually rebuilding this country will produce over 4.5 million good-paying union jobs every year for as far as the eye can see,” he said.
The candidate also said he supports a higher minimum wage and stronger unions.
“Raising the minimum wage and getting living wages for working Americans is something that’s absolutely critical,” Steyer said.
“And we need to stand up for unions. And we need to stand up for the right of working people to bargain collectively, to come together, and to basically fight back against a war on the working people of this country that started with Ronald Reagan and has continued right through to Mr. Trump.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
