President Trump does better than Joe Biden in polls on handling the economy, even though he took a growing economy, seemed to improve it, and then nearly destroyed it. How is that possible?

Trump’s deliberate disregard of the dangers of COVID-19, and so many of his deadly missteps, were aimed largely at trying to keep the economy looking good for his re-election effort. If that had worked, he’d most certainly claim credit; so he should accept responsibility for the horrific results. And things would be infinitely worse if Congressional Democrats hadn’t saved the day by pushing for so much relief and stimulus, primarily through the CARES Act.

Republicans have somehow convinced the American people that Republicans are better for the economy, despite strong evidence to the contrary. That’s particularly amazing since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 began under Republicans, and was turned around under Democrats.

Economic growth and job creation are frequently better under Democratic administrations, with much better stock market performance. Giant tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations-with resulting massive deficits that Republicans only seem concerned about when Democrats are in charge-have not created sustainable economic growth. And gutting environmental regulation, while calling global warming a hoax and ignoring the science, may ultimately pose a bigger threat to the economy than COVID-19.

Democrats seem to know all this. Now they need to figure out how to convince the American people.

Newsletter