It was only a few months ago that Donald Trump launched a bizarre offensive against Brian Kemp, the incumbent Republican governor of Georgia, for no specific reason. The former president labeled Kemp a “villain,” “disloyal” and “Little Brian.”
At an event in the Peachtree State, Trump also targeted the governor’s wife and prompted his followers to berate the Republican governor of their home state. Perhaps most importantly, the former president singled out Kemp for failing to commit election fraud on his behalf in 2020.
Two months later, Kemp explained why he still supports his party’s presidential candidate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:
“Look, you may not like Donald Trump personally, but you will like his policies much better than Kamala Harris,” Kemp said recently at a Republican rally. ‘It’s a business decision. You’re making a business decision.’
This is a common refrain. The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser has a new report on wealthy Republicans who have re-embraced Trump, highlighting billionaire investor Nelson Peltz who denounced Trump the day after the Jan. 6 attack. In an interview with CNBC, Peltz apologized for his vote and said Trump would always be remembered for the “shame” of that day.
“As an American,” he added at the time, “I am ashamed.”
Now Peltz and many of his allies are nevertheless backing Trump again — because, like Kemp, they are “making a business decision.”
Similarly, the New York Times’ Nate Cohn published a report this week on why the former president is doing better in the 2024 polls among black and Hispanic voters, despite his overt racism. “Many people assume that Democrats are winning black and Hispanic voters simply because of the party’s commitment to advancing racial equality,” Cohn wrote, “but the role of economic self-interest should not be underestimated.”
In other words, a lot of people are simply making “a business decision.”
But what if they ask the right question, but come up with the wrong answer? Rachel had a great A-block on this topic this week, and it’s worth checking out the basic truths:
Inflation is at the level Trump left office at. Economic growth under the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration is, as we now know, higher than economic growth under the first three years of the Trump administration. …Economic growth has increased. Wages are up. Retail sales are good. The interest rate drops. We are experiencing record highs on Wall Street. Biden and Harris, this administration has produced by far the best job growth numbers of any presidential administration in American history. Unemployment rates are very low and persistently low. These are the best unemployment numbers we have seen in decades.
It was just a few weeks ago that The New York Times reported that the U.S. labor market is “as healthy as it has ever been”—as in U.S. history—and described recent economic growth as “robust.”
A few days later, Heather Long of The Washington Post explained in a column that “just about by any measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. The growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation has fallen again. More importantly, many Americans are getting significant pay increases, and middle-class wealth has risen to record levels. We are experiencing one of the best economic years of many people’s lives.”
The same day, Politico described the status quo as “a dream economy.” Shortly afterwards, The Economist described the US economy as “the envy of the world”, adding that the US economy has “left other rich countries in the dust”.
And so you may be willing to overlook the fact that Trump deployed a violent mob to attack his own country’s Capitol because he didn’t like the election results. And you’re willing to look past the fact that he’s currently awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of 34 crimes. And maybe you don’t care that Trump is also awaiting trial on dozens of additional charges (he has pleaded not guilty).
And maybe you don’t care about the time he told Americans that disinfectant injections could treat Covid, about his family separation policies, about his corrupt pardons, his impeachment scandals, his racism or his authoritarian agenda.
Maybe you’re just making “a business decision.”
But what does that mean in practice? Under the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. economy has not only “left other rich countries in the dust,” but also left the Trump administration’s record in the dust.
If you’re concerned about the deficit and fiscal issues, Trump’s record is indefensible, and his vision for the near future is even worse.
If you’re worried about inflation, Trump’s economic agenda is rooted in policies that would absolutely make inflation worse — as economists keep trying to tell people.
If you’re concerned about the candidates’ business backgrounds, Trump has repeatedly failed in the private sector, and he has been reduced to marketing a bunch of very sketchy products.
If you’re concerned about the candidates’ handling of business leaders, Trump continues to hold special meetings with business leaders, who tend to come away with the impression that the Republican is completely clueless.
If your concern is about the candidates’ running mates, Republican Senator JD Vance has spoken publicly about inflicting “pain” on companies that fail to adapt to his party’s culture war agenda.
If you’re concerned about the candidates looking for business, Trump has recently threatened a variety of corporate giants, from John Deere to Google.
For those simply “making a business decision,” this doesn’t seem like a particularly difficult decision.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
