As the Republican National Convention continues this week, the DFL Party is releasing the memo fact sheet below on how Donald Trump’s disastrous management of the coronavirus pandemic has failed Minnesotans.
DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin says “Trump faces massive headwinds in Minnesota because Minnesotans have seen firsthand the failures of his administration on everything from his ineffective COVID-19 response, to his chaotic trade war that cost farmers and manufacturers jobs and profits, to his relentless attacks on our health care, including threats to Social Security. What you won’t hear from the RNC this week are the stories of Minnesotans hurt by his broken promises.”
FACT: Donald Trump’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving working families behind.
- Trump didn’t just fail to prepare for coronavirus: he abandoned states to face it alone. Minnesota has seen over 68,000 positive cases of COVID-19 and over 1,700 deaths.
- Over six months since the pandemic came to the United States, and some frontline workers still struggle to get the PPE they need to work safely.
- Trump fought extending unemployment benefits for workers, and his stop-gap measure isn’t reaching workers anytime soon.
FACT: Donald Trump came to Minnesota in 2016 and promised he would stop jobs from leaving Minnesota, but in reality his failed leadership has led to a devastating economic crisis.
- Because of his failed coronavirus response, the July unemployment rate was more than double what it was in March, from 2.9% to 7.7%.
- Trump promised Minnesota Farmers that he’d be a champion for them, but he’s repeatedly proposed slashing programs that are vital to rural Minnesota.
- Donald Trump’s massively unpopular tax giveaway to billionaires included incentives for American companies to ship jobs overseas, including no taxes on many profits generated in foreign countries.
- His failed trade policies have cost Minnesota businesses over $700 million.
FACT: Donald Trump has relentlessly attacked protections for people with pre-existing conditions and his threats to Social Security jeopardize benefits serving over 1 million Minnesotans.
- In 2019, Social Security programs directly served over 1 million Minnesotans. According to the Urban Institute, the number of people uninsured in Minnesota would increase by 265,000, or 80 percent, under repeal of ACA compared to the current law. As many as 2,318,738 people with pre-existing conditions in Minnesota could have been denied coverage before the ACA went into effect. If Trump succeeds in rolling back the ACA, these Minnesotans would be left vulnerable again.