In case you are wondering exactly where your personal finances stand, the self-proclaimed "king of debt" has news for you.
"Our consumers are rich," Donald Trump said Sunday, ever in touch with the financial well-being of everyday Americans. "I gave a tremendous tax cut, and they’re loaded up with money."
Welp, forget about your accountant (if you can afford one), your budget, and by god, put that calculator away. All is well! Trump says so.
Sure, polls showed that the vast majority of consumers didn't feel bowled over by a rush of cash from Trump's giant tax giveaway to the rich. In fact, only some 20% of Americans told polling firms earlier this year that they believed their taxes had actually been cut by the GOP law. But what do they know? Just because some 40% of households can't come up with $400 to pay for an unexpected expense, who's to say they're not as "rich" as Trump says?
If the economy really takes a downturn, Trump will be screwed for so many reasons—not least of which is that he's in the running to be one of the least empathic people on earth. Not only can he not feel other people's pain, he really just doesn't give a damn about it.
And while he may be able to sell some 40% of the nation on his alternate reality, one place he won't be able to fool them is on their budget. If they can't put food on the table, if they can't pay that surprise medical bill, if they're facing debt collectors or bankruptcy or insolvency, they're going to know they're not "loaded up with money," no matter what Trump says. And at least some of them are going to resent the fact that Trump doesn't know it.