Washington Examiner economics columnist Tiana Lowe Doescher criticized President Donald Trump’s promise to hand out $5,000 dividends if Republicans maintain control of both houses in Congress.
“I mean, if you’re sending out liquid stimulus checks, you’re losing, and who knows that better than Joe Biden,” Doescher said Monday on CNN This Morning. “This is a great way to send inflation back up.”
Trump made the dividend promise during his appearance at the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas. The proposal has since faced criticism from members of his own party, who worry about setting a bad precedent and increasing the national debt.
“I kind of wish he would wink at the end so I knew it was a bit,” Doescher said. “I mean, in all seriousness, sending out free money, that’s the way you get the 10-year Treasury yield well over 5%. It’s at 5.2%, and that’s what matters.”
Doescher said people under 65 have not experienced serious inflation until “Bidenomics,” leading to confusion on what drives prices.
“And you don’t understand that … unless we have an actual recession or depression, prices don’t go down,” Doescher said. “The only job is to make real incomes go up.”
REPUBLICANS WORRY THEY’VE ‘GLOSSED OVER’ VOTERS’ AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS
Affordability is at the forefront of many voters’ minds heading into the midterm elections as Republicans campaign for highly competitive seats. Despite disagreeing with the president’s plan for dividends, Doescher said Trump has succeeded in other areas of the economy.
“Trump has delivered on the growth element, going all in on AI, productivity, that is good,” Doescher said. “But the prices have not slowed down enough.”