President Donald Trump told Americans to buy fewer pencils to alleviate the bad situation millions now find themselves in under his economic policies during a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.
The White House had billed Trump’s speech as the first step in a new campaign to address affordability, an issue of rising concern as wave after wave of bad economic news hits America. Instead, Trump made comments completely out of touch with the souring mood.
“You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils. That’s under the China policy, you know every child can get 37 pencils—they only need one or two, you know they don’t need that many,” Trump said, adding, “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter, two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”
The rant echoed remarks Trump made back in April as prices for toys were forecast to rise thanks to his tariff policy, which has added costs for retailers that are being passed on to consumers. Back then he said, “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Trump also reiterated another lie he has repeatedly mentioned in recent days, arguing that concerns about affordability are a “hoax” created by Democrats.
His comments stand in stark contrast to worsening economic conditions on his watch. These include rising costs, increased layoffs and a worsening job market. In his first term, Trump became the only president in modern times to have a net job loss and in his second term he has doubled down on the policies that contributed to that failure.
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Republicans have been on an election-losing streak over the last year, losing to Democratic candidates across the country who have been stressing the affordability crisis and solutions to fix it. Trump and his party have dismissed these concerns and stuck to the Republican tradition of allowing the economy to worsen.
When he wasn’t belittling the economic struggles of families, Trump also continued his racist tirades about immigrants from Black majority nations. He again singled out Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali immigrant.
Trump mocked Omar for her “little turban” and said she “does nothing but bitch.” Trump also incorrectly stated Omar was in America “illegally” and “we ought to get her the hell out.”
The congresswoman quickly responded to the smear, writing, “Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help. Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead. He continues to be a national embarrassment.”
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