Billionaire Tom Steyer has repeatedly said he could beat President Donald Trump, especially when it comes to the economy. Martha Raddatz, the host of "ABC This Week," on Sunday asked Steyer how he would convince voters to agree with him on the economy.
"Mr. Steyer, you say that you can take on Donald Trump on the economy but the latest Quinnipiac national poll, just released this week, says 70 percent of voters describe the nation's economy as 'excellent' or 'good' so how do you convince them a change is needed when they think they're doing so well under Donald Trump?" Raddatz asked.
Steyer gives a long pause, clearly not prepared for the question.
"I think if you take a look at what he says, everything he says, superficially sounds right, but it's actually a lie," the billionaire explained. "So when he says the economy is growing, I can show, in fact, all the money is going to rich people. When he says unemployment is low – which is true – I can show that the wages people are getting don't support a family."
Steyer said the stock market is doing well because of President Trump's tax cuts "that he gave to big corporations" but, at the end of the day, "it doesn't matter because most of the stocks, 85 percent of the stocks, are held by the top 10 percent."
Raddatz interrupted the billionaire to remind him of an important point: 70 percent of Americans say the economy is booming and not all of those people are wealthy.
"Well, here we are, on a show, and you're standing up for Mr. Trump's version of the economy," he fired back.
"I'm talking about a national poll. I'm not standing up for anybody," Raddatz replied. "I'm telling you about a national poll."
According to Steyer, there's a "different version" of the economy that "has to be told." He admitted President Trump is running on the economy but failed to say how he would change things.
It's always amazing to watch rich people tell average Americans they're not really better off than they were before Trump took office. More people are back to work. The middle class has more money in their pockets. People are starting to feel confident about the economy. Steyer can say this is all "Trump's version" of the economy, but maybe he should get off his high horse and talk to the American people – especially African Americans and Hispanics – that are benefitting from this president's policies.
