>> Why exactly did Donald Trump decide to flip flop on the potential of another stimulus
bill during this pandemic? Remember, we still have an 8.4% unemployment rate, we have people
who are desperate for any financial aid. More and more job losses are becoming permanent
job losses, as opposed to simply layoffs or temporary layoffs.
And so Trump had tweeted yesterday that he wanted the negotiations to stop. He was taking
full ownership for halting those negotiations on the next round of stimulus. And then all
of a sudden, he changed his tune and argued that he wants these piecemeal standalone bills
that address various parts of our economy rather than having a comprehensive stimulus
bill.
Well, if you're curious about what's motivating Donald Trump behind the scenes, yes, steroids
might be playing a role as a result of his positive coronavirus test and treatment. But
also keep in mind the business community finally got together and they sent a strong message
to Trump. So speaking to the Washington Post, the Business Roundtable, which is a political
organization representing the CEOs of America's top companies shared their disappointment
with Trump.
And Trump definitely heard this loud and clear. They say, we are deeply troubled by the sudden
halt of negotiations. Millions of American workers, families and businesses are suffering
from the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and need the support of
their government. Communities across the country are on the precipice of a downward spiral
and facing irreparable damage.
Failure to reach a deal on additional relief would worsen and prolong this crisis for our
country. So let's decode that. Because the truth of the matter is, a lot of these companies,
especially when it comes to the CEOs and executives of the top companies in this country, have
shown that they care very little about keeping jobs.
And they care way more about bailouts, so they can pay dividends to their investors
and essentially leave their workers out to dry. That's what we've seen over and over
again. But regardless of their deceptive messaging there, they do have a lot of influence over
Donald Trump and so does the stock market.
After Trump had announced that he put a halt to the negotiations, the stock market took
a dip. I'm sure the CEOs didn't like that either. And really, the stock market's the
only thing that Donald Trump has been able to point to in order to argue that he's been
a successful president in regard to the economic situation in this country.
We all know that's not the real economy, we all know that's BS, but we also know that
that's what Trump cares a lot about. So his reversal today, I would argue, has more to
do with his own personal and financial interests as opposed to anything else.
>> Yeah, and that makes me wonder, did he not get that his tweets yesterday would cause
a negative effect on the stock market?
I don't understand how you wouldn't expect that. I mean, one would wonder, is he playing
such three-dimensional chess that he's expecting that but thinks that this is a long term play?
It doesn't seem like it. I don't know, I know that you and Cenk yesterday on the show were
talking about, is this just a form of messy negotiation?
And I think Cenk said no, Trump has shown throughout his career that he's not good at
negotiating this way. But he had his initial tweets yesterday. Late last night he had his,
well, maybe there are bits that I would work on. This morning, Mark Meadows says, no, he
is actually done with the negotiations.
So is this just negotiating by saying you're not gonna negotiate? Are they hoping that
even though this really does seem to take the onus and the blame off of Nancy Pelosi
and the Democrats, that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are still Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats?
So even though they're off the hook, they would still come to him with a deal he would
like better?
That seems to be looking too far ahead for Donald Trump.
>> Yeah, definitely. >> And so maybe this is just a mess, I don't
know. If it is, I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to it. If it's negotiations, then
we can have a conversation about where they'll actually end up.
One last point I'll make, this is obviously Donald Trump's fault, to some extent. He's
saying he doesn't wanna negotiate. But the thing is, if a bill goes to his desk, what
is he gonna do? Is he not gonna sign it? If Mitch McConnell passes some sort of aid bill,
is he gonna veto it?
I sort of doubt that. So while this is technically Donald Trump's fault, if Nancy Pelosi and
the House are passing bills, and they have been for literally months, the Democrats and
the senators are totally down to do something. It really does seem like it's Mitch McConnell
that is holding this thing up.
Maybe not in terms of the social media campaign, but if he passes a bill, Donald Trump will
sign it. So once again, I would say, this is really Mitch McConnell's screwing people
over. >> You're 100% right, I refuse to ever believe
that Donald Trump is playing three-dimensional or any-dimensional chess.
Donald Trump is not thinking that far into the future. But remember, Trump tweeted that
thread announcing the fact that he wants to halt these negotiations right after he had
a conversation with Mitch McConnell. So you're right in laying the blame on Mitch McConnell,
because truth of the matter is, he does not want to pass another stimulus bill.
There was the so-called skinny stimulus that was voted on in the Senate. And that was really
just an effort to make it appear as though some of these vulnerable Republicans who are
facing tough reelection campaigns can point to something if they get called out for failing
to pass any type of stimulus bill.
The skinny stimulus was a sham. There was really not much in there to help ordinary
Americans, it was all just part of Mitch McConnell's political theater. He doesn't really wanna
pass more stimulus, and he was honest about that yesterday in a statement. Let me see
if I can just pull it up real quick.
So McConnell, who has been in regular contact with Mnuchin, said he agreed with Trump's
decision after Trump said that he wanted to halt the negotiations. I think his view was
that they were not going to produce a result, meaning the Democrats, and that we needed
to concentrate on what's achievable.
McConnell just wants to confirm judge Amy Coney Barrett, that's all he wants to do.
So he loved that Trump announced via Twitter, hey, stop negotiating on financial aid for
Americans, just focus on getting that Supreme Court nominee confirmed. Even as the majority
of Americans who have been polled on this issue say that they would rather the next
president make that decision as opposed to Donald Trump.
>> Yeah, and specifically, when given those two options in terms of how they prioritize
it, literally every group of Democrats, eight or nine out of ten say, you should go with
the economy first, go with the pandemic first. Between 70 and 80% of independents, even 55%
of Republicans say, of course you've gotta prioritize dealing with the crisis we're in
rather than dealing with the Supreme Court.
But that's just the population in a democracy perhaps that would matter. We're being provided
all the evidence we need to know that it doesn't. >> And I wanna leave you with this. Jerome
Powell, who's the head of the Federal Reserve, had just announced, prior to Trump's Twitter
storm, that Americans are really in a precarious situation.
And we need stimulus. Our economy is really in jeopardy right now, and the Federal Reserve
has done a lot to help corporations by bailing them out. They can only do so much. And so
we're now at a situation where if you look at the numbers, consumer spending has slowed
down considerably.
A lot of job losses are now considered permanent job losses, the airline industry just announced
laying off more than 30,000 workers. And so this is a complete and utter disaster, and
Donald Trump is the most irresponsible, incompetent person I've ever seen in government. And that's
saying something, because it's littered with incompetent irresponsible people.