• BillionaireStew@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    As a candidate, Donald Trump pledged to balance the federal budget and lower the national debt, promises that are proving difficult to keep.

    Once he won, Trump considered an unusual approach that was quickly slapped down by his chief economic advisor, according to veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” which went on sale Tuesday.

    “Just run the presses — print money,” Trump said, according to Woodward, during a discussion on the national debt with Gary Cohn, former director of the White House National Economic Council.

    “You don’t get to do it that way,” Cohn said, according to Woodward. “We have huge deficits and they matter. The government doesn’t keep a balance sheet like that.”

    Cohn was “astounded at Trump’s lack of basic understanding,” Woodward writes.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/11/trump-once-considered-just-printing-money-to-lower-the-national-debt-woodward-reports.html

    • Carrots@quokk.au
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      2 days ago

      And yet he was elected twice. I’d say he’s the average Joe in America

          • BillionaireStew@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            Indeed, and “It is what it is.” and “It’s one of those things.” and “It has come to this.” and other such substantive axioms.

            My previous reply was not to deny the fact of his presidency. It was to take exception to the notion that he is “the average joe in America” when he was rejected by America’s average joe at least three times as often as not.

            In times past losing a presidential election spelled the end for a candidate’s presidential ambitions but for some reason the adjudicated rapist seems heedless of the electorate’s “No.”

      • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        i suspect he’s actually smarter than them given that this class and position give him access to knowledge and professionals that the average joe will refuse to accept.