Democrats Counter Trump on Key Pillar of Campaign: The Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidates criticized President Donald Trump Thursday for directing economic gains to corporations and the rich at the expense of the middle class -- countering his portrayal of the U.S. economy as a success.

On the campaign trail, Trump has touted his economic record, pointing to the record-long expansion, unemployment at a half-century low and the past week’s breakthroughs on trade deals with China, as well as Mexico and Canada. But Democrats on the debate stage in Los Angeles argued that the spoils of growth have been distributed unevenly.

Joe Biden bristled at a question suggesting that Americans are feeling a stronger economy. ”I don’t think they really do like the economy,” Biden said.“The middle class is getting killed,” it’s being “crushed.” He advocated for better health care and education policies so that ordinary people can have a higher quality of life.

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, chastised a key measure that Trump has often cited as proof of his success -- rallying U.S. stock markets that closed at a fresh record highs Thursday. “Where I live people aren’t measuring the economy by how the Dow Jones is doing,” said Buttigieg. “This economy is not working for most of us.”

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang said accelerating economic growth and surging corporate profits stand in contrast with ‘’people’s living experience on the ground.” The headline unemployment rate doesn’t account for people who are underemployed or are forced to hold two or three jobs, he said.

Elizabeth Warren echoed that assertion, adding that the middle class is being “hollowed out” and the poor ”left behind.” Both the Massachusetts senator and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are champions of an additional levy to tax the very rich.

“We need an economy that works for everyone, not just the 1% -- that is what our campaign is about,” said Sanders at the debate.

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer also backed a wealth tax and said Democrats need to knock down Trump’s message that the economy is doing well.

“The question is did we talk enough about what he’s definitely going to run on, which is the economy,” Steyer said, referring to Trump, in a post-debate interview with PBS News Hour. “It’s really important that we take him down, go right at his strength and expose him as a fake. And he’s been terrible for Americans on the economy.”

(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He didn’t take part in Thursday’s debate.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Washington at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson

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