Donald Trump and his working mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are fighting ladies voters, and it’s not a brand new drawback for them. In 2020, Trump misplaced them to Joe Biden by 15 share factors (57% to 42%), in line with exit polls. And right here’s a enjoyable truth: Regardless of successful married ladies by 4 factors (51% to Biden’s 47%), Trump misplaced ladies with kids by 13 factors (43% to 56%).
To deal with these points, you would possibly anticipate Trump to supply—on the very least—warmed-over pablum when requested the right way to make youngster care inexpensive. As an alternative, he provided but extra proof of his psychological collapse.
On Thursday, at a supposed financial handle in Manhattan, Trump was requested, “If you win in November, can you commit to prioritizing legislation to make child care affordable? And if so, what specific piece of legislation will you advance?”
And right here is Trump’s total, unedited reply:
Properly, I’d try this, and we’re sitting down. You realize, I used to be anyone—we had Sen. Marco Rubio—and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that situation. It is a vital situation. However I feel if you discuss in regards to the sort of numbers that I am speaking about—that, as a result of look, youngster care is youngster care, could not—you recognize, it’s one thing—you need to have it on this nation. It’s important to have it. However if you discuss these numbers, in comparison with the sort of numbers that I am speaking about by taxing international nations at ranges that they don’t seem to be used to. However they’re going to get used to it in a short time. And it is not going to cease them from doing enterprise with us. However they’re going to have a really substantial tax once they ship product into our nation. These numbers are a lot greater than any numbers that we’re speaking about, together with youngster care, that it may take care. We will have—I sit up for having no deficits inside a reasonably brief time frame, coupled with the reductions that I advised you about on waste and fraud and all the different issues which are happening in our nation. As a result of I’ve to say, with youngster care, I need to stick with youngster care. However these numbers are small relative to the sort of financial numbers that I am speaking about, together with progress, however progress additionally headed up by what the plan is that I simply—that I simply advised you about. We will be taking in trillions of {dollars}. And as a lot as youngster care is talked about as being costly, it is, comparatively talking, not very costly in comparison with the sort of numbers might be taking in. We will make this into an unbelievable nation that may afford to care for its folks. After which we’ll fear about the remainder of the world. Let’s assist different folks. However we will care for our nation first. That is about America first. It is about ‘Make America Great Again.’ We have now to do it as a result of proper now we’re a failing nation. So we’ll care for it. Thanks. Excellent query. Thanks.
Evidently some within the media—similar to Sahil Kapur of NBC Information, who tweeted out a full transcript of Trump’s garbled response—are waking as much as Trump’s cognitive travails. However the place are the handfuls of front-page New York Occasions tales about it, like these they ran after President Joe Biden’s terrible debate efficiency?
In truth, New York Occasions reporter Michael Gold sane-washed the reply for Trump:
After his speech, Donald Trump was requested how he would possibly handle rising youngster care prices. In a jumbled reply, he mentioned he would prioritize laws on the problem however provided no specifics and insisted that his different financial insurance policies, together with tariffs, would “take care” of kid care. “As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in.”
What in Trump’s full reply suggests he would really “prioritize legislation on the issue”? The query requested if he would prioritize it, however in his phrase salad, he by no means dedicated to any such factor. And there’s no likelihood that laws to meaningfully handle the steep prices of kid care could be thought-about in a second Trump presidency, a lot much less handed.
Gold went out of his approach to make Trump’s apart about tariffs sound semi-coherent, versus the nonsensical pivot it actually was. Or, to place it one other approach, Gold made it sound as if Trump provides a rattling about youngster care when it’s clear from his reply right here—in addition to his present coverage platform and his priorities throughout his administration—that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about it. He barely even is aware of the right way to discuss in regards to the situation, helpfully confirming for us that “you have to have [child care] in this country.”
Query: Will you prioritize laws to make youngster care inexpensive?
Trump: Baby care exists. Excellent query. Thanks.
The New York Occasions: Trump commits to prioritizing youngster care, paid for by his proposed tariffs on international items.
And The New York Occasions isn’t alone. Right here’s the Related Press:
That is absurd. The political press has to do higher.
