There has been a raging debate over whether Trump really is a Republican, or a conservative at all, and his past comments on TARP and Obama’s stimulus might leave a few wondering….
Here he is saying the Obama stimulus HAD TO BE DONE, from way back in 2009:
CAVUTO: Are you for this Obama stimulus that was signed into law today?
TRUMP: Well, something had to be done. And whether it’s perfect or not, nothing is perfect. And it’s a whole trial-and-error thing, Neil.
It’s a very, very tough — we are having — as the congressman just said, we’re having the worst year, the worst couple of years, since the Great Depression. And you mentioned the early ’80s.
I mean, the early ’80s get blown away by this deal, as you know very well. This is far, far more severe than the early ’80s.
CAVUTO: Do you really think so? I mean, back then, we had higher unemployment. You could argue that — that we might be headed there.
But, geez, Donald, I look at these numbers, I don’t — I don’t see the Depression comparison.
TRUMP: Neil, when you look at the banks, had trillions of dollars not been poured into the banks, you would have an insolvent banking system, and then you would absolutely have 1929. They did the right thing.
Here are two quotes from the Conservative Review:
- Trump supported President Obama’s 2009 stimulus, saying: “The word stimulus is probably not used in its fullest…you know, certain of the things that were given weren’t really stimulus. They were pork, as we call it, or they were gifts to certain people. But overall, I think he’s [President Obama] doing very well. You do need stimulus and you do have to keep the banks alive.” (CNN)
- Trump supported TARP, saying, “You had to do something to shore up the banks, because … you would have had a run on every bank.” (CNN)
And here he is in 2011 saying he liked the stimulus, but the people weren’t ready for it and Obama implemented it badly:
So… what do you Trumpeteers think? Would you vote for a Trump trillion dollar stimulus bill, and can you really call that conservative? I’m sure you’ll let us know in the comments…