PRESIDENT DID NOT REVERSE HIS DECISION TO STOP STIMULUS TALKS
…A recent unemployment
line seen in multiple US cities
President makes his reelection even less
possible with his recent decisions
Those meds might as well have been in his first decision, now they are trying to say that he has reversed that decision. That is hardly the truth.
His decision was in a series of tweets less than 24 hours after he was given steroid medication and released from Walter Reed hospital. Trump then accused Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) of failing to negotiate in good faith, after she rejected an opening bid from Mnuchin in their latest round of talks. She was at $2.4 trillion and Mnuchin was only at $1.6 trillion. No wonder the Speaker turned down the deal. There was no “middle” number even being considered. Word on the street says that the Republicans in the Senate did not want to go ahead with any strong stimulus package.
Trump’s ridiculous first statement was as follows: “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”.
Trump’s surprising announcement stands in stark contrast with recommendations from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who had said in a speech hours earlier that more economic stimulus was needed to sustain the recovery.
Trump’s tweets sent the stock market into the basement, as many businesses, households and investors had been hoping for a major fiscal stimulus package amid all the signs that the economy had lost serious momentum. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 376 points, or 1.3% in one day. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also fell off the ledge.
Trump is still dealing with his recent covid-19 diagnosis, and the side effects of his meds may have something to do with his strange reactions. But Trump has tried to dismiss the virus impact on him over the past two days.
The so called “reversal of this decision” is where the president urged Congress Tuesday night to approve a piecemeal of coronavirus relief measures he said he would sign, including a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks for Americans.
That turn came after just hours after he had effectively killed discussions on a broader stimulus package until "after I win" the election. Both moves by the president as usual, were made on Twitter.
"If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?" Trump tweeted Tuesday night.
He said in another tweet that he would approve funding for specific struggling industries, such as airlines and small businesses, which is short of what the House Democrats proposed.
"The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!" Trump said.
A senior administration official familiar with the president's thinking said Tuesday that a "large-scale stimulus package is on the sidelines," as Trump made clear earlier, saying the president felt it best not to string people along. But the White House is obviously planning to push a series of smaller, individual packages on mutually agreed-upon items.
Trump said he instead asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “not to delay, but to instead focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.”
McConnell, who spoke with Trump shortly before the president’s announcement, said he agreed with the decision.
So, Trump’s focus is on his leveraging the Supreme Court over taking care of the millions of Americans in need today.
“I think his view was that they were not going to produce a result and we needed to concentrate on what’s achievable,” the Senate majority leader McConnell told reporters at the Capitol.
Trump’s pronouncements have come after days of sustained negotiations between Pelosi and Mnuchin. Pelosi later speculated to Democratic colleagues on a conference call that the president’s sudden change in position might be connected to the steroids he’s taking as he battles Covid-19.
“Believe me, there are people who thought, who think that steroids have an impact on your [his] thinking,” she apparently told her House Democrats.
The White House’s focus now appears to have shifted from the economic talks to solely pushing for the Supreme Court confirmation. Even though several Republican senators have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, McConnell is moving forward swiftly with Barrett’s nomination, trying to get her confirmed before the election. If one more Republican Senator comes down with the virus, it may be hard for the Majority Leader to obtain the needed “quorum” for a vote on the confirmation.
Still, Trump’s move disappointed some members of his party who were hoping to be able to deliver new relief to their constituents.
“Waiting
until after the election to reach an agreement on the next Covid-19 relief
package is a huge mistake,” Sen.
Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate in a tough reelection race, said in a
statement.
The US economy is facing new head winds. It contracted sharply earlier this year because of the pandemic, leading to massive layoffs and business closures.
However, despite the push from some within the White House and lawmakers from both parties, conservatives had urged Trump to reject a new spending package.
Art Laffer, a supply-side economist generally regarded as being outside the economic mainstream, said he visited the White House about a week ago and expressed the view that Trump should not approve any stimulus package.
This is the kind of advise that doesn’t need to go to a sick president on large doses of steroids that have devastating side effects.
Copyright
G. Ater 2020
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