Donald Trump got roasted for a wildly meandering word salad of an answer he gave to members of the Economic Club of New York about how his administration would make child care more affordable, tying in tariffs, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio and his daughter Ivanka.
The former president and 2024 Republican nominee appeared Thursday at the Manhattan event and touted how he would hike tariffs on foreign imports, boost energy production and cut corporate taxes to create a "national economic renaissance."
Then he was asked about making child care affordable.
"Well, I would do that, and we're sitting down — you know, I was, somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. It's a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about, that — because, look, child care is child care. It's, couldn't, you know, there's something, you have to have it — in this country, you have to have it," he began.
"But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I'm talking about, by taxing foreign nations at levels that they're not used to — but they'll get used to it very quickly — and it's not going to stop them from doing business with us. But they'll have a very substantial tax when they send products into our country," he went on, and on.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign highlighted Trump's answer in a series of posts on X, one of which just showed the former president answering the question.
Q: What specific legislation will you commit to to make child care affordable?
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 5, 2024
Trump: Well, I would do that and we're sitting down, you know, I was, somebody, we had Marco Rubio and my daughter, Ivanka… But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about… pic.twitter.com/v8gqLUHS2v
Another showed Washington Post economic columnist Catherine Rampell responding to Trump's answer on CNN.
"To the extent that he said things that were coherent, and some of it was just sort of words randomly chosen out of a dictionary, I think. To the extent that he said anything that was coherent, it was kind of what we would expect. It was a promise of more income tax cuts, higher tariffs, which, by the way, tariffs are taxes," Rampell said.
Journalist: Trump's economic speech today sounded like it was just words randomly chosen out of the dictionary. To the extent that he said anything coherent, it was a promise of more corporate tax handouts and higher tariffs, which would raise costs for everyday Americans pic.twitter.com/pZhor6VltT
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 5, 2024
A White House spokesman said Trump's rambling comments were part and parcel of "MAGA-nomics."
"These tariffs that he wants to apply across the board would amount to a $4,000 tax increase on working families," Andrew Bates said in response to a question on MSNBC's "Way Too Early" Friday.
"If you're buying a crib, if you're buying bibs, this is going to impact all kinds of products that every single American family needs," he said, adding that "MAGA-nomics means giant tax giveaways for billionaires and for big corporations."
The Lincoln Project, an organization created by a group of Republicans who oppose Trump, skewered him in a posting on X.
"This is him after weeks of debate prep by the way," it mocked.
Blogger Parker Molloy also needled Trump's campaign for its attacks on the vice president.
"I find it really funny that Trump supporters will falsely accuse Kamala Harris of 'not being able to put together a complete sentence. Meanwhile, their guy is just ... that. It's such an obvious case of projection," she wrote on X.
