TRUMP AND AIDS STUNNINGLY OUT OF TOUCH!!!
In a meeting with Republican members of Congress on Thursday, Trump was asked about the ongoing partial government shutdown and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s comments earlier in the day that he doesn’t “quite really understand why” federal workers affected by the shutdown are going to food banks instead of taking out loans. Ross’s remarks were widely panned as stunningly out of touch.
The president appeared to try to clean up Ross’s comments, but in doing so, he revealed that he, too, is a little confused about how typical Americans live. He seemed to suggest people can just work out a side deal with the grocery store if they aren’t able to pay.
“Local people know who they are when they go for groceries and everything else. And I think what Wilbur was probably trying to say is that they will work along,” Trump said.
In other words, federal workers on furlough or working without pay because of the shutdown should just strike a deal with the store.
Trump also said banks are “working along” with clients on payments such as their mortgages.
“The folks collecting the interest and all of those things, they work along,” Trump said. “And that’s what happens in times like this. They know the people. They’ve been dealing with them for years. And they work along.”
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Josh Marshall
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@joshtpm
Trump: The grocery store will float you the food on credit until the shutdown is over. That's how it works.
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It is true that some banks and credit unions have devised loans specifically for workers affected by the shutdown and are waiving charges such as overdraft fees and interest charges. But lenders are working with clients on a case-by-case basis, meaning not everyone is getting the same deal. And workers are being forced to take on debt that they wouldn’t have had to otherwise.
On the grocery store front, it’s not clear exactly what Trump thinks happens when people get to the front of the checkout line. Are they supposed to explain to the checker that they’re a federal government worker and then work out some sort of an agreement to pay later? Trump seems to think so — and also assumes that most people are shopping at local mom-and-pop stores, not giant chains. Not many Americans still know their grocer personally.
I reached out to chains including Kroger, Albertsons, and Whole Foods to see what sort of deals, if any, they had for workers affected by the shutdown. None, thus far, have returned the request for comment.
Walmart has committed $300,000 to support a trio of funds that help workers hurt by the shutdown, but its cashiers aren’t cutting deals to consumers. Kraft has opened a grocery store pop-up in Washington, DC, where federal workers can get macaroni and cheese, salad dressing, cheese, and condiments.
This isn’t the first time Trump has seemed confused about what’s going on in the grocery business. He raised eyebrows last summer when, at a Florida rally in defending voter ID laws, he said people need identification to buy groceries.
“You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID,” Trump said. “You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture.”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/...t-shutdown
