Julián Castro thanked former President Barack Obama when speaking about the strong economy during the CNN presidential debate Wednesday evening.
Moderator Dana Bash asked Castro, who was housing and urban development secretary under Obama, whether his economic plan would raise taxes in a way that would disrupt the wage growth, rising stocks, and low unemployment numbers during the Trump administration.
“First of all, there are a lot of Americans that are hurting just go and ask the folks that received notice they’re getting laid off by General Motors or ask the many folks who are sleeping on the street in big cities and small towns across the United States. Or ask fast food workers that I joined a couple weeks ago that are working for minimum wage and can’t provide for families or pay the rent,” Castro said.
“So, the idea of that America is doing just fine is wrong. Not only that, this president always likes to take credit like he did this. We’ve now had about a 105 straight months of positive job growth — the longest streak in American history. Over 80 months of that was due to President Barack Obama,” he added, before repeating twice: “Thank you, Barack Obama.”
He continued, “So I believe that we need to invest in what will ensure that Americans can prosper in the years to come. Making sure they have the knowledge and skills to compete in the 21st-century economy, ensuring that they can afford the rent where they live and they have health care so they don’t have to worry about going homeless because they can’t afford a medical procedure.”
