Patty Murray, WA
Linked statement
“President Trump is out of touch with regular people. His trade taxes and his war have raised the cost of food, gas, and housing. He cuts healthcare and childcare while asking for more money for war. Republicans in Congress are letting him do it, but voters will hold him accountable this fall.”
“Mr. President, as President Trump himself has admitted-- his quote--``I am not so careful with what I say’’ and ``Americans’ financial situation? I don’t think about anybody.’’ No kidding. We noticed. When it comes to the economy, President Trump’s statements could not be more divorced from reality, let alone the experience of everyday Americans. Yes, in a shock to no one, the billionaire who gets advice from a trillionaire is way out of touch today with everyday people. Trump said last year that he never even knew the word ``affordability’’ until recently. He said that ``tariffs’’--the taxes he raised on working families--is his ``favorite word.’’ Trump said that we can’t afford childcare. He said, ``No one . . . [cares] about affordable housing.’’ He said, ``Health care . . . [is] not of tremendous interest.’’ Get a load of this: Trump said that he loves inflation and that $4 for a gallon of gas is ``okay’’ and that ``when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.’’ Well, that may be true for his buddies--the billionaires and the oil robber barons--but it sure is not true for working families. Of course, I know it is hard to keep track of all of Trump’s wackadoodle claims about the economy, especially with the constant stream of new nonsense spewing out of this President’s brain, so today, I want to take a trip down memory lane and discuss what I consider Trump’s craziest quotes about the economy and working families. It is no secret that Americans are fed up with inflation--at least all Americans except for one. President Trump said: Do my Republican colleagues agree? Do they love inflation? Because I will say they have not lifted a finger to help us stop the Trump policies driving inflation through the roof. Republicans have not helped rein in Trump’s absurd trade wars. Republicans have not stood up against Trump’s war with Iran. They have not helped reject Trump’s cuts to programs that lower energy costs. They did not stop the MAGA healthcare hike that caused insurance premiums to skyrocket. I know Trump is out of touch with everyday Americans when he says he loves inflation. I know it because I hear directly from people back in Washington State about this all the time. But what about Republicans here in Congress? They may not be as blunt about it as Trump, but their actions--or, rather, their inaction to lower prices--speak pretty darn loudly. If you are not a billionaire like Trump, you are probably very familiar with groceries and the fact that costs have been going up, up, and up. If you are Trump, well, then you are saying things like this: It is a ``very simple word, groceries. Like almost--you know, who uses the word?’’ or ``It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It sort of says a bag with different things in it.’’ For most of us, the grocery trip is a weekly errand, it is everyday life, but the way Trump talks about groceries, he may as well be from another planet. It is very clear that Trump has no idea what it is like to clip coupons for discounts on milk and bread. He does not know what it is like to compare cereal boxes to see what size has the best value or to check the clearance aisle in hopes of finding a deal. And I would bet my bottom dollar that he has never in his life bought the generic brand to save a few bucks. He probably doesn’t even know they exist. Groceries may seem old-fashioned to Trump, but for everyone else, whether or not we can afford groceries is the difference between being able to put a healthy dinner on the table, scraping by on the cheapest junk, or just going hungry. Now, if you were wondering why President Trump doesn’t seem to care at all about rising prices, well, it may just be that a billionaire like Trump literally doesn’t understand the idea of struggling to pay for something. The word ``affordability’’ is practically a new concept for him. He doesn’t believe in it. He thinks it was made up. In his own words: He said: And he said: A scam? A hoax? A phony, made-up word? That is what Trump thinks affordability is, but for families across this country today, affordability is a very real problem, one that they are having to deal with every single day and one that is being made worse by this President’s own policies. In case anybody thinks Trump doesn’t have any solutions on affordability, don’t forget this little pearl of wisdom from Trump: Seriously? I talk to moms and dads all the time who are struggling to get by and to families who are already stretching their budgets and pinching their pennies. People are not struggling because they are blowing their savings on dolls. The problem is not their pencil budget. Good Lord! It is everything. It is their healthcare costs, which Trump has sent higher. It is childcare, which is out of control. It is goods across the border, which are up due to Trump’s insane trade wars. It is gas, which Trump launched to new heights with his Iran war. Trump just does not get it. He has no idea what Americans are going through. Trump has already told us that he views ``groceries’’ as an old- fashioned word. He has already said he thinks the word ``affordability’’ is made up. But what has he said about tariffs? You almost have to hear it to believe it. Trump said: Now, as a reminder, since Republicans keep trying to put their heads in the sand on this, tariffs are taxes. Our Republican President is saying his favorite thing is a tax increase. Reagan must be spinning in his grave. And not only are tariffs taxes, they are taxes that hurt working families especially hard. We have seen that time after time. Trump’s tariffs have rocketed grocery prices through the roof. Trump’s tariffs have made baby items--strollers, car seats, toys--more expensive. Trump’s tariffs have put a strain on back-to-school shopping. They have squeezed our local coffee shops. And Trump’s favorite word is crushing small businesses too. I have talked to local restaurants and sporting goods stores and farmers and a lot more. They are all facing serious hardship because of Trump’s tariffs. They are losing customers for produce that they ship abroad. They are having to raise prices in their stores. They are having to pay their employees less and let people go or even shut their doors entirely--all because Trump chose to pursue some of the biggest tax hikes in American history while Republicans cheered him on. Let’s not forget Trump is also totally out of touch on healthcare. As Trump put it, ``I’ve found health care sort of like . . . not of tremendous interest.’’ That explains why he has done absolutely nothing to lower healthcare costs. Worse than that, Trump and Republicans passed the largest cut to healthcare in our Nation’s history and then stood by and cheered as patients faced some of the largest healthcare price hikes in history. In their ``Big Ugly Bill,’’ Republicans gutted Medicaid with changes that are, right now, kicking families off their healthcare coverage. And while Trump and Republicans are plenty interested in tax cuts for billionaires and while they will bend over backward to help keep the private jets fueled, they did not lift a finger to save families from exploding insurance premiums. They stood by as tax credits for working families expired and as people saw their monthly premiums double, triple, or even worse. We know millions of people lost their coverage because of Trump and Republicans. And don’t forget: Trump put tariffs on pharmaceuticals--of all things. Maybe a billionaire like Trump does not find healthcare interesting because Trump has never had to ration his prescription and hope it would be OK, and he has never had to delay a needed checkup until the next paycheck. He has never debated whether to go to urgent care or not because he was worried about the bill or wondered how on Earth he could afford a lifesaving cancer treatment. But that is the reality millions of patients face every day, and they deserve leaders here in Washington who are interested in the challenges they face and who are focused on solutions so that everyone can get the care they need without worrying about the cost. I, of course, have to talk about childcare. I got into politics fighting for childcare, and it is something I push hard on every day. So I was floored when I heard Trump say: Talk about out of touch. That is exactly backward. We have a childcare crisis in this country. It is holding our country back. A billionaire like Trump may not understand that working parents are the backbone of this economy, and if Mom and Dad cannot find childcare, then Mom and Dad can’t go to work. That is a big problem for parents who are trying to make ends meet and for small businesses that are trying to find workers. Trump says we can’t afford childcare. The truth is, we cannot afford to ignore childcare. One of the most outrageous things Trump has said about the economy was something he actually said behind closed doors. According to Punchbowl News earlier this year, Trump told Republican leaders: How ridiculous. We have an enormous housing shortage in this country, especially when it comes to affordable housing. The rising costs from Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war have made it harder for people to make rent. And because Trump has done so much damage to the economy, Federal interest rates are on the rise, meaning mortgage rates are going higher and higher, and millions of families are watching as Trump pulls the rug out from under them--putting their dream of owning a home further and further out of reach, but Trump doesn’t care. Worse than that, Trump sees high housing costs as a good thing. He literally said: Spoken like a true slumlord. And let’s not forget that while Trump doesn’t know words like ``affordability’’ and ``groceries’’ and loves inflation and tariffs and while he doesn’t care about healthcare or housing and doesn’t think we need money for childcare, there is one issue Trump is ready to throw trillions of dollars at--war. He started a pointless war with Iran, with no plan and no concern for how it would explode gas prices. Even now, he is saying $4 gas is OK. He doubled down recently and said: Meanwhile, he has put forward a completely war-bloated budget calling for $1.5 trillion for war spending. That is ``trillion’’ with a ``t.’’ We are talking about 12 zeroes here. I know what you are thinking. It is the same thing most Americans are thinking. We cannot afford another forever war. We have investments right here that we need to be making: childcare, healthcare, energy, roads, housing, and more. But Trump, who once promised no more forever wars, has actually done a complete 180. Not only did he launch a new war, he wrote online about his belief that ``wars can be fought forever and very successfully.’’ So, to recap, Trump thinks wars can be fought forever, but we can’t afford childcare at all. He wants to spend trillions on bombs and weapons but doesn’t care about housing and healthcare. It simply does not get more wrong or out of touch than that. There are so many insane things Trump has said about the economy, but a lot of it comes down to one basic fact: He is in complete denial. Maybe it is because he has let AI videos melt his brain. Maybe it is because he is a hopelessly out-of-touch billionaire. Maybe it is just because he is exactly what he has always been--a liar. They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. When it comes to the economy, Trump cannot even do that. Despite the painful inflation, despite the sluggish job growth, despite the red flashing lights like rising bond rates and slowing GDP growth and plummeting consumer confidence--despite all of that--when Trump was asked to give himself a grade on the economy, he gave himself an ``A-plus . . . A- plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.’’ A plus? That is more like BS. Maybe the high prices and chaos are working great for corrupt billionaires like Trump. After all, he has made more stock trades as President than all of Congress combined; he is raking in billions through crypto scams; and his family is cashing in through highly conflicted foreign business deals. However, Trump’s rigged economy is not working for working families, but here is the thing: We live in a democracy. At the end of the day, Trump’s final grade on the economy won’t come from himself. The American people--the ones who are paying the price of Trump’s tariffs, the ones who are paying the price of his war with Iran, the moms and dads who are struggling to find childcare, the patients who are struggling to find healthcare, the families who are struggling to pay rent--they are the ones who will pass final judgment later on this year on Trump’s economy. I have no doubt that, in the meantime, Trump will continue making out-of-touch statements and bizarre AI videos. But here is a reminder to all of my colleagues who are afraid to stand up to this President: Even if Trump has lost touch with reality, he is going to have to face all of that this fall. I yield the floor.”
Mr. President, as President Trump himself has admitted-- his quote--``I am not so careful with what I say’’ and ``Americans’ financial situation? I don’t think about anybody.’’ No kidding. We noticed. When it comes to the economy, President Trump’s statements could not be more divorced from reality, let alone the experience of everyday Americans. Yes, in a shock to no one, the billionaire who gets advice from a trillionaire is way out of touch today with everyday people. Trump said last year that he never even knew the word ``affordability’’ until recently. He said that ``tariffs’’--the taxes he raised on working families--is his ``favorite word.’’ Trump said that we can’t afford childcare. He said, ``No one . . . [cares] about affordable housing.’’ He said, ``Health care . . . [is] not of tremendous interest.’’ Get a load of this: Trump said that he loves inflation and that $4 for a gallon of gas is ``okay’’ and that ``when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.’’ Well, that may be true for his buddies--the billionaires and the oil robber barons--but it sure is not true for working families. Of course, I know it is hard to keep track of all of Trump’s wackadoodle claims about the economy, especially with the constant stream of new nonsense spewing out of this President’s brain, so today, I want to take a trip down memory lane and discuss what I consider Trump’s craziest quotes about the economy and working families. It is no secret that Americans are fed up with inflation--at least all Americans except for one. President Trump said: Do my Republican colleagues agree? Do they love inflation? Because I will say they have not lifted a finger to help us stop the Trump policies driving inflation through the roof. Republicans have not helped rein in Trump’s absurd trade wars. Republicans have not stood up against Trump’s war with Iran. They have not helped reject Trump’s cuts to programs that lower energy costs. They did not stop the MAGA healthcare hike that caused insurance premiums to skyrocket. I know Trump is out of touch with everyday Americans when he says he loves inflation. I know it because I hear directly from people back in Washington State about this all the time. But what about Republicans here in Congress? They may not be as blunt about it as Trump, but their actions--or, rather, their inaction to lower prices--speak pretty darn loudly. If you are not a billionaire like Trump, you are probably very familiar with groceries and the fact that costs have been going up, up, and up. If you are Trump, well, then you are saying things like this: It is a ``very simple word, groceries. Like almost--you know, who uses the word?’’ or ``It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It sort of says a bag with different things in it.’’ For most of us, the grocery trip is a weekly errand, it is everyday life, but the way Trump talks about groceries, he may as well be from another planet. It is very clear that Trump has no idea what it is like to clip coupons for discounts on milk and bread. He does not know what it is like to compare cereal boxes to see what size has the best value or to check the clearance aisle in hopes of finding a deal. And I would bet my bottom dollar that he has never in his life bought the generic brand to save a few bucks. He probably doesn’t even know they exist. Groceries may seem old-fashioned to Trump, but for everyone else, whether or not we can afford groceries is the difference between being able to put a healthy dinner on the table, scraping by on the cheapest junk, or just going hungry. Now, if you were wondering why President Trump doesn’t seem to care at all about rising prices, well, it may just be that a billionaire like Trump literally doesn’t understand the idea of struggling to pay for something. The word ``affordability’’ is practically a new concept for him. He doesn’t believe in it. He thinks it was made up. In his own words: He said: And he said: A scam? A hoax? A phony, made-up word? That is what Trump thinks affordability is, but for families across this country today, affordability is a very real problem, one that they are having to deal with every single day and one that is being made worse by this President’s own policies. In case anybody thinks Trump doesn’t have any solutions on affordability, don’t forget this little pearl of wisdom from Trump: Seriously? I talk to moms and dads all the time who are struggling to get by and to families who are already stretching their budgets and pinching their pennies. People are not struggling because they are blowing their savings on dolls. The problem is not their pencil budget. Good Lord! It is everything. It is their healthcare costs, which Trump has sent higher. It is childcare, which is out of control. It is goods across the border, which are up due to Trump’s insane trade wars. It is gas, which Trump launched to new heights with his Iran war. Trump just does not get it. He has no idea what Americans are going through. Trump has already told us that he views ``groceries’’ as an old- fashioned word. He has already said he thinks the word ``affordability’’ is made up. But what has he said about tariffs? You almost have to hear it to believe it. Trump said: Now, as a reminder, since Republicans keep trying to put their heads in the sand on this, tariffs are taxes. Our Republican President is saying his favorite thing is a tax increase. Reagan must be spinning in his grave. And not only are tariffs taxes, they are taxes that hurt working families especially hard. We have seen that time after time. Trump’s tariffs have rocketed grocery prices through the roof. Trump’s tariffs have made baby items--strollers, car seats, toys--more expensive. Trump’s tariffs have put a strain on back-to-school shopping. They have squeezed our local coffee shops. And Trump’s favorite word is crushing small businesses too. I have talked to local restaurants and sporting goods stores and farmers and a lot more. They are all facing serious hardship because of Trump’s tariffs. They are losing customers for produce that they ship abroad. They are having to raise prices in their stores. They are having to pay their employees less and let people go or even shut their doors entirely--all because Trump chose to pursue some of the biggest tax hikes in American history while Republicans cheered him on. Let’s not forget Trump is also totally out of touch on healthcare. As Trump put it, ``I’ve found health care sort of like . . . not of tremendous interest.’’ That explains why he has done absolutely nothing to lower healthcare costs. Worse than that, Trump and Republicans passed the largest cut to healthcare in our Nation’s history and then stood by and cheered as patients faced some of the largest healthcare price hikes in history. In their ``Big Ugly Bill,’’ Republicans gutted Medicaid with changes that are, right now, kicking families off their healthcare coverage. And while Trump and Republicans are plenty interested in tax cuts for billionaires and while they will bend over backward to help keep the private jets fueled, they did not lift a finger to save families from exploding insurance premiums. They stood by as tax credits for working families expired and as people saw their monthly premiums double, triple, or even worse. We know millions of people lost their coverage because of Trump and Republicans. And don’t forget: Trump put tariffs on pharmaceuticals--of all things. Maybe a billionaire like Trump does not find healthcare interesting because Trump has never had to ration his prescription and hope it would be OK, and he has never had to delay a needed checkup until the next paycheck. He has never debated whether to go to urgent care or not because he was worried about the bill or wondered how on Earth he could afford a lifesaving cancer treatment. But that is the reality millions of patients face every day, and they deserve leaders here in Washington who are interested in the challenges they face and who are focused on solutions so that everyone can get the care they need without worrying about the cost. I, of course, have to talk about childcare. I got into politics fighting for childcare, and it is something I push hard on every day. So I was floored when I heard Trump say: Talk about out of touch. That is exactly backward. We have a childcare crisis in this country. It is holding our country back. A billionaire like Trump may not understand that working parents are the backbone of this economy, and if Mom and Dad cannot find childcare, then Mom and Dad can’t go to work. That is a big problem for parents who are trying to make ends meet and for small businesses that are trying to find workers. Trump says we can’t afford childcare. The truth is, we cannot afford to ignore childcare. One of the most outrageous things Trump has said about the economy was something he actually said behind closed doors. According to Punchbowl News earlier this year, Trump told Republican leaders: How ridiculous. We have an enormous housing shortage in this country, especially when it comes to affordable housing. The rising costs from Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war have made it harder for people to make rent. And because Trump has done so much damage to the economy, Federal interest rates are on the rise, meaning mortgage rates are going higher and higher, and millions of families are watching as Trump pulls the rug out from under them--putting their dream of owning a home further and further out of reach, but Trump doesn’t care. Worse than that, Trump sees high housing costs as a good thing. He literally said: Spoken like a true slumlord. And let’s not forget that while Trump doesn’t know words like ``affordability’’ and ``groceries’’ and loves inflation and tariffs and while he doesn’t care about healthcare or housing and doesn’t think we need money for childcare, there is one issue Trump is ready to throw trillions of dollars at--war. He started a pointless war with Iran, with no plan and no concern for how it would explode gas prices. Even now, he is saying $4 gas is OK. He doubled down recently and said: Meanwhile, he has put forward a completely war-bloated budget calling for $1.5 trillion for war spending. That is ``trillion’’ with a ``t.’’ We are talking about 12 zeroes here. I know what you are thinking. It is the same thing most Americans are thinking. We cannot afford another forever war. We have investments right here that we need to be making: childcare, healthcare, energy, roads, housing, and more. But Trump, who once promised no more forever wars, has actually done a complete 180. Not only did he launch a new war, he wrote online about his belief that ``wars can be fought forever and very successfully.’’ So, to recap, Trump thinks wars can be fought forever, but we can’t afford childcare at all. He wants to spend trillions on bombs and weapons but doesn’t care about housing and healthcare. It simply does not get more wrong or out of touch than that. There are so many insane things Trump has said about the economy, but a lot of it comes down to one basic fact: He is in complete denial. Maybe it is because he has let AI videos melt his brain. Maybe it is because he is a hopelessly out-of-touch billionaire. Maybe it is just because he is exactly what he has always been--a liar. They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. When it comes to the economy, Trump cannot even do that. Despite the painful inflation, despite the sluggish job growth, despite the red flashing lights like rising bond rates and slowing GDP growth and plummeting consumer confidence--despite all of that--when Trump was asked to give himself a grade on the economy, he gave himself an ``A-plus . . . A- plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.’’ A plus? That is more like BS. Maybe the high prices and chaos are working great for corrupt billionaires like Trump. After all, he has made more stock trades as President than all of Congress combined; he is raking in billions through crypto scams; and his family is cashing in through highly conflicted foreign business deals. However, Trump’s rigged economy is not working for working families, but here is the thing: We live in a democracy. At the end of the day, Trump’s final grade on the economy won’t come from himself. The American people--the ones who are paying the price of Trump’s tariffs, the ones who are paying the price of his war with Iran, the moms and dads who are struggling to find childcare, the patients who are struggling to find healthcare, the families who are struggling to pay rent--they are the ones who will pass final judgment later on this year on Trump’s economy. I have no doubt that, in the meantime, Trump will continue making out-of-touch statements and bizarre AI videos. But here is a reminder to all of my colleagues who are afraid to stand up to this President: Even if Trump has lost touch with reality, he is going to have to face all of that this fall. I yield the floor.