Posted on 05/05/2016 7:26:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- Soon after becoming the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump said he would be open to raising the federal minimum wage in a notable reversal of GOP policy.
During a debate in November, Trump said he would oppose raising the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 an hour.
"I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is," Trump said at the time.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Trump was asked about Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders' desire to raise the federal minimum wage to $15.
"You can't live on $7.25 an hour, right?" interviewer Wolf Blitzer asked Trump.
"No, and I'm actually looking at that because I'm very different from most Republicans," Trump said. "I mean, you have to have something that you can live on but what I'm really looking to do is get people great jobs so they make much more money than that, so they make ... much more money than the $15.
"Now, if you start playing around too much with the lower level number, you're not going to be competitive," Trump added.
"But you're open to raising the minimum wage?" Blitzer asked.
"I'm open to doing something with it because I don't like that, but what I really do like is bring our jobs back so they're making much more than $15," Trump replied.
Trump joins former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., as the only GOP presidential candidate who has shown support for raising the federal minimum wage, The Hill reported. Ben Carson briefly supported the policy before backtracking.
Trump's comments, although not concrete, point to a reversal -- or openness to reversal -- in a significant policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Let the conniptions begin...
Headline does not reflect what Trump said.
Get two jobs at $7.50 an hour each. Problem solved. Next?
Any thing better than welfare will help out our country.
Bringing good-paying jobs back is the place to begin.
“You can’t live on $7.25 an hour, right?”
Then you can’t live on $0.00 either, which you get more of with minimum wage.
And the article lies by omission too.
Smart move by Trump, takes the issue off the table and makes Hillary a liar (she said Trump wants to reduce wages).
Hate to point it out, but he is straddling both sides of an issue again.
Raise minimum wage but not too much?
Is that the takeaway here?
Now, we ask, what is too much?
what is too little?
He didn’t need to open this can of worms.
He’s saying exactly the right thing here AFAIC. There are too many people fighting for crappy little minimum wage jobs and that’s because prior administrations have basically chased away the good paying jobs. Bringing manufacturing back will make the minimum wage debate irrelevant.
If that problem isn’t fixed, this country will crash and burn.
That didn’t take long.
Hopefully, they will also consider raising the federal PRODUCTIVITY level to at least $15/hour at the same time.
He’s running in the general now so he’s not going to come out and say things that Hillary will use against him. Saying he’ll look at it is not really a reversal.
at least that’s what I want to believe.
Wolf Blitzer opened the can of worms.
Every time Trump says he ‘open’ to an idea, people lose their mind. He doesn’t say He WANTS to, he says he’s ‘open’ to looking at all alternatives...unlike most of the closed minds we have running this country.
I suppose running to eliminate the minimum wage would be a winning strategy!! /s
FWIW, “Open to” in negotiations means it is not a nonnegotiable item. It doesn’t mean he wants to negotiate it away but he would if needed to get a bigger goal. It doesn’t mean he will actually give up completely, only that he will tell the other side he is open. What is that goal right now? To get elected. How to get elected? Steal votes from Democrats, namely Bernie Sanders Voters. To build the wall he needs to get elected, to get elected he needs as many of Sanders voters as he can muster.
I hate to point it out, but he is straddling both sides of an issue again.
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Exactly as he should. By not allowing himself to be pinned down he removes ammunition from the left. He did not say when and how much and in your own questions you have acknowledged the brilliance of what he said.
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