White House spokesman Josh Earnest was unimpressed by what he saw at Thursday’s Fox Business presidential debate, and said it made him pine for passed-over GOP candidates of election years past.
“I never thought I’d pine for the days of Herman Cain, but at least he had a 9-9-9 plan,” Earnest said during Friday’s press briefing. “Next to all these guys on the stage last night, Herman Cain looked like a policy wonk.”
Cain—a pizza magnate who rode a tea party wave to a short-lived lead in the 2012 Republican contest—was known for his 9-9-9 tax plan. The scheme involved replacing the current tax code with a 9-percent business transactions tax, a 9-percent personal income tax, and a 9-percent federal sales tax.
His run came to a swift end in late 2011 after he faced multiple allegations of sexual abuse, which he later claimed were masterminded by the devil.
The debate Thursday was hosted on a business network, but covered a wide variety of topics ranging from immigration policy to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’s eligibility to serve as president.
Earnest said he was underwhelmed by the 2016 Republican field’s lack of clearly articulated policies.
“Unfortunately, I did watch part of the debate last night. I regretted it deeply,” he said. “I don’t think the President made that same mistake.”
