A guide to all of Donald Trump's flip-flops on the minimum wage
A guide to all of Donald Trump¡¦s flip-flops on the minimum wage
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee August 3
(Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News)
The folly of fact-checking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump¡¦s stances on policy proposals is that he believes you need flexibility and everything is negotiable. Of course policymakers make compromises, but Trump's flexibility has left him contradicting himself on several policy issues on the campaign trail.
One such issue is the federal minimum wage. During last weeks Democratic National Convention, Democrats repeatedly attacked him for claiming, early in the campaign season, that ¡§wages are too high. But Trump has clarified this point since then and has made numerous other claims about the minimum wage. (Hillary Clinton also has shifted to embrace a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, with stipulations.) Trump¡¦s various flip-flops on the minimum wage reminded us of this 2007 compilation by Fact Checker founder Michael Dobbs on then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney¡¦s shifts on abortion.
As a reader service, we compiled Trump's shifts on the federal minimum wage over the past year. At times, he appeared to conflate the state and federal minimum wages, making us wonder whether he even understands the distinction. (The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and more than half of the states have raised it higher than that).
The net result is that, if elected president, no matter the decision Trump makes on the minimum wage, he certainly can claim he's being consistent with his previous stance since he has been on nearly every side of the issue. We will continue updating this list as necessary.
August 2015
Trump opposes raising the federal minimum wage.
Trump: I want to create jobs so that you don¡¦t have to worry about the minimum wage. They¡¦ll do a great job that they're making much more than the minimum wage. But I think having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country.
Morning Joe, Aug. 20, 2015
Chuck Todd: What's a living wage? What's fair?
Trump: I want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now'
Todd: You wouldn't raise it?
Trump: because of the fact that we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes and transportation and the Internet.
Todd: So you think we got to keep the minimum wage lower?
Trump: Well I want to compete with the rest of the world. I want to compete with the rest of the world. What I do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage. But we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world.
READ MORE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-c...
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee August 3
(Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News)
The folly of fact-checking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump¡¦s stances on policy proposals is that he believes you need flexibility and everything is negotiable. Of course policymakers make compromises, but Trump's flexibility has left him contradicting himself on several policy issues on the campaign trail.
One such issue is the federal minimum wage. During last weeks Democratic National Convention, Democrats repeatedly attacked him for claiming, early in the campaign season, that ¡§wages are too high. But Trump has clarified this point since then and has made numerous other claims about the minimum wage. (Hillary Clinton also has shifted to embrace a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, with stipulations.) Trump¡¦s various flip-flops on the minimum wage reminded us of this 2007 compilation by Fact Checker founder Michael Dobbs on then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney¡¦s shifts on abortion.
As a reader service, we compiled Trump's shifts on the federal minimum wage over the past year. At times, he appeared to conflate the state and federal minimum wages, making us wonder whether he even understands the distinction. (The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and more than half of the states have raised it higher than that).
The net result is that, if elected president, no matter the decision Trump makes on the minimum wage, he certainly can claim he's being consistent with his previous stance since he has been on nearly every side of the issue. We will continue updating this list as necessary.
August 2015
Trump opposes raising the federal minimum wage.
Trump: I want to create jobs so that you don¡¦t have to worry about the minimum wage. They¡¦ll do a great job that they're making much more than the minimum wage. But I think having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country.
Morning Joe, Aug. 20, 2015
Chuck Todd: What's a living wage? What's fair?
Trump: I want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now'
Todd: You wouldn't raise it?
Trump: because of the fact that we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes and transportation and the Internet.
Todd: So you think we got to keep the minimum wage lower?
Trump: Well I want to compete with the rest of the world. I want to compete with the rest of the world. What I do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage. But we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world.
READ MORE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-c...
Which one do you believe?