“ ‘The truth is, throughout this crisis, Donald Trump has been almost singularly focused on the stock market. The Dow and Nasdaq — not you, not your families.’ ”
Joe Biden on Thursday charged President Donald Trump with putting the stock market above ordinary Americans, blasting the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as he laid out a new economic plan.
Speaking at a metal works plant in Dunmore, Pa., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Trump has been focused on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.38% and the Nasdaq COMP, +0.52% during the pandemic, and “not you.”
Trump has indeed hailed market records, like those set by the Nasdaq, which closed at an all-time high on Thursday. The Dow, however, fell more than 360 points, and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.56% dropped nearly 18 points.
In recent remarks, Trump has also pointed to greater-than-expected job gains since people began returning to work from coronavirus lockdowns. In June, the U.S. added 4.8 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell for the second straight month, to 11.1%.
But the economy’s recuperation from the coronavirus might already be suffering a setback from a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases, as MarketWatch has reported.
See:U.S. regains 4.8 million jobs in June and unemployment falls to 11.1%, but rehiring poised to slow
Biden on Thursday gave the first of a series of speeches in which he’s shifting his attack on Trump to the economy. He called for new rules to “Buy American,” saying his plans would create 5 million manufacturing jobs.
In the coming weeks, Biden will unveil an energy plan to combat the climate crisis and introduce a third package on what the campaign has dubbed the “caring economy,” with a focus on making child care and elder care more affordable and less of an impediment to working-age Americans.
The Associated Press and Jeffry Bartash contributed to this story.
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