Politics

Pence paints doomsday economic scenario if Trump loses in 2020

Echoing the campaign trail warnings of President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence told the Detroit Economic Club on Monday that if Democrats succeed in winning the White House in 2020, it would mean an economic catastrophe for many Americans.

"I honestly believe if any one of the Democrats on that debate stage wins the Presidency, the gains of the last two and a half years would be wiped out," the Vice President said in a speech.

"Taxes would skyrocket. The stock market would tank. Jobs would vanish and we would get this recession that naysayers are talking about," Pence added.

Pence's message - part excitement about the Trump economy, and part gloom and doom about the Democrats - was much like that of President Trump's campaign stop last week in Manchester, New Hampshire, when he said the bottom line is simple:

"You have no choice but to vote for me because your 401(k)s go down the tubes, everything is gonna be down the tubes," the President said about a Democratic victory in 2020.

On Monday morning, Mr. Trump went on Twitter to rail against Democrats - charging they were rooting for a recession to drive him from office - and again jawboning the Chairman of the Federal Reserve - arguing once more for interest rate cuts to spur economic growth.

In his Detroit speech, the Vice President gave no hints of any second-guessing about the current trade fight between the U.S. and China. which has spurred some volatility on Wall Street.

"At the President's direction, we've put tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods," Pence said, making clear the Trump Administration is not going to back down - specifically tying the trade talks to the current unrest in Hong Kong.

"As the President said yesterday, it will be much harder for us to make a deal if something violent happens in Hong Kong," Pence added.