Top Democrat Slams Trump’s Booming Economy: 'We Were Fully Employed During Slavery'
House Majority Whip James Clyburn slams African-Americans job growth
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House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., blasted President Donald Trump's booming economic numbers among African-Americans, arguing that black people "were fully employed during slavery."
Speaking on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on Tuesday, Clyburn made the remarks during a discussion on whether he would back billionaire former New York City Michael Bloomberg if he won the Democratic nomination.
"I'm going to back whoever our nominee is. Absolutely," said Clyburn.
"Even with the things he has said about African-Americans? Does that bother you?" Cavuto asked, referring to controversial comments made by Blomberg, which have recently resurfaced.
"Well, not as much as what Trump has said about African-Americans," Clyburn responded.
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"Any time ... that I go to the polls, I'm considering positives and negatives on all candidates," he added.
"And I try to go with the one whose positives outweigh the negatives."
Cavuto then noted Trump's financial record, highlighting that he had "delivered the goods for a lot of African-Americans ... with record-low unemployment levels."
Clyburn interjected, "Come on, Neil," before claiming that the numbers were "not true."
"I'm saying that the African-American unemployment is not the lowest it's ever been unless you count slavery," Clyburn claimed.
Former President #BarackObama belittled President #DonaldTrump on Monday by calling him a con artist while attempting to take credit for his booming economy.
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) February 18, 2020
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Clyburn later credited former President Obama for the economic numbers, which he himself took credit for while calling Trump a con artist.
Obama wrote on Twitter:
“Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.”
"We were fully employed during slavery. So it all depends how you measure this up," Clyburn said.
Clyburn added claimed African-Americans are not content with how things were under Trump, "Because I go to church with African-Americans. I live with African-Americans. I'm the father of African-Americans."
In September, Trump created 136,000 American jobs, as unemployment rates plummeted to just 3.5 percent.
Black unemployment rates also plummeted under Trump, falling to 5.4 percent, the lowest level since 1972, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In August, Neon Nettle reported that the unemployment rate for African-Americans between the ages of 16 and 19 plummeted to 17.7 percent, the lowest rate since government records began in the early 1970s.
