New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote in a Monday column that although he believes Donald Trump’s positions on immigration are inexcusable, he thinks Trump has the best economic policy ideas in the GOP presidential field.
Krugman argued that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) should be attacking Trump’s racist comments rather than going after Trump’s remarks on taxes:
Instead, Mr. Bush has chosen to attack Mr. Trump as a false conservative, a proposition that is supposedly demonstrated by his deviations from current Republican economic orthodoxy: his willingness to raise taxes on the rich, his positive words about universal health care. And that tells you a lot about the dire state of the G.O.P. For the issues the Bush campaign is using to attack its unexpected nemesis are precisely the issues on which Mr. Trump happens to be right, and the Republican establishment has been proved utterly wrong.
Krugman wrote that President Obama’s policies, including the Affordable Care Act, have helped the U.S. economy and unemployment rate. He said that the economy has “done far better than should have been possible if conservative orthodoxy had any truth to it.”
The columnist also pointed out that Bush’s focus on Trump’s economic positions haven’t hurt the real estate tycoon.
“And here’s what’s interesting: all indications are that Mr. Bush’s attacks on Mr. Trump are falling flat, because the Republican base doesn’t actually share the Republican establishment’s economic delusions,” Krugman wrote.
Though he praised Trump’s comments on taxes and health care, Krugman did not back down from comments he made in July that Trump is a “loudmouth racist.”
“So am I saying that Mr. Trump is better and more serious than he’s given credit for being? Not at all — he is exactly the ignorant blowhard he seems to be,” he wrote, adding that Trump’s Republican competitors are not “reasonable and thoughtful” when it comes to the economy.
