Above Photo: Tom Steyer Speaks to Supporters at Nacho Hippo in Market Common
By Bob Gatty
Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer took his case for the Democratic presidential nomination to Horry County Wednesday evening at a community event in Myrtle Beach’s Market Common, where he predicted President Trump would lose in the 2020 election because he “is incompetent and he stinks at his job.”
Declaring that Trump’s claim that he has restored America’s economy “is not true,” Steyer said he’s told Fox News that Trump “stinks on the economy, and then they have a heart attack.”
“Honestly, if we’re growing and all the money’s going to rich people, that is not a success,” asserted Steyer. “Having low unemployment with a $7.25 minimum wage that you cannot live on is not a success. And having the stock market go up because of his gigantic trillion-dollar tax windfall…most people don’t own stocks. The people at the Mara Lago Country Club care about the stock market. Mr. Trump and his pals care about the stock market. Working people, it doesn’t help them at all.”
Then, Steyer declared, “He’s incompetent. He’s a crook, he’s corrupt, he’s a criminal, and he’s going to lose ‘cause he’s incompetent and he stinks at his job.”
Trump, he said, “blew up the deficit” by giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and the corporations, “and he has said that he will balance the budget by going after Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security after the election. That is immoral.”
“I will explain the terms under which I would allow Social Security to be cut,” Steyer said, as the room quieted. “Over my dead body!” And, a cheer erupted. “It’s wrong!”
Trump’s trade war, Steyer added, only hurts Americans. “It’s a straight-up, stupid ass failure. It’s a bad idea and he doesn’t know how to get out of it.”
The corona virus is a “big deal,” Steyer stressed, noting that Trump has “stripped the Centers for Disease Control of its capabilities,” and that Trump’s request to Congress for funding is “way late.” The economic impact of the virus will be devastating, warned Steyer.
“The problem is we have an incompetent president who stinks at his job,” he said.
Successes and Priorities
Steyer told the crowd about his successes in business, in organizing vast movements like Need to Impeach and his Next Gen organization for young people and recounted his determination to make climate change his number one priority, along with other aspects of his platform, including working to end right-to-work laws in states like South Carolina.
Taking audience questions, Steyer was asked when his economic initiatives, including increasing the minimum wage, changing the tax code to be fairer to the average person, and creating jobs would hit people’s pocketbooks. The questioner said he is working three jobs to make ends meet, and his family is living paycheck to paycheck.
“All of those things (his initiatives) are designed to put more money in the pockets of working people and let it stay there,” Steyer explained, adding that he would need Congressional approval to increase the minimum wage and change the tax law. “It may not be the first day, but it’ll be the first three months, that’s for sure,” he predicted.
“In 2020, this is going to be a generational election like 1980 was with Ronald Reagan that changed America, like 1932 was with FDR that changed America, like 1860 was with Abraham Lincoln that changed America. This year is that year,” Steyer declared.
“Because of climate, because of how much is at stake for the planet forever, this might not be the generational election, this might be the most important election any time any place since people were walking on the earth on two legs. We are going to have to show up. If we show up, we win.”
Many in the crowd at Nacho Hippo came to hear Steyer because they were still undecided about their choice.
Carlos Loredo (photo, left), of Myrtle Beach, expressed concern about a recent executive order from President Trump that will result in many immigrants being turned away if they are considered a possible “public charge.” Loredo focuses on immigration policy and hoped to hear Steyer’s views on that subject so he could share them with the Latino community.
“I’m gonna vote Saturday in the South Carolina primary and I haven’t firmly made up my mind, so I’m here to listen to Mr. Steyer and see if he’s one of my top three to vote for,” explained one attendee.
That same perspective was shared by Horry County resident Stacie Pearman.
“I like Tom. He’s not my number one, but he’s probably my number two. I’m open to him,” she said.
