Highlights:
Trump’s Office Of Management And Budget Opposed Legislation To Raise The Federal Minimum Wage to $15. According to USA Today, “During his presidential campaign, Trump at times advocated keeping the federal minimum at $7.25 an hour and other times said that was ‘too low.’ In July, the Office of Management and Budget opposed a House-passed bill that would more than double the U.S. base wage to $15.” [USA Today, 2/7/20]
Trump Spoke Out Against Raising The Minimum Wage. According to Politico, “Asked whether he supported raising the minimum wage now despite the challenges small businesses face, Biden responded: ‘I do, because I think one of the things we’re going to have to do we’re going to have to bail them out, too. We should be bailing them out now, those small businesses.’ […] But Trump, who said he would consider raising the minimum wage if he wins a second term, challenged him, saying that raising the minimum wage would not help business owners who are fighting to keep the doors open. ‘How are you helping your small businesses when you’re forcing wages?’ Trump said. ‘What’s going to happen and what’s been proven to happen is when you do that these small businesses fire many of their employees.’” [Politico, 10/22/20]
2015: Trump Said He Wanted To “Keep The Minimum Wage Pretty Much Where It Is Right Now.” According to Bloomberg, “In 2015, Trump said he wanted to ‘keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now’ in an interview with MSNBC, and two months later told Fox News that a New York proposal to raise its lowest wage to $15 an hour was ‘too high.’” [Bloomberg, 6/21/19]
2013: Trump Suggested, “There Was Merit In The Idea Of Having Two Minimum Wages - One Of High School-Age Kids And Another For People Who Have Families To Raise.” According to CNN, “Trump said the debate surrounding whether to raise the minimum wage has ‘created a lot of problems.’ ‘You don’t want to do anything that’s going to keep the incentive away for whether it’s McDonald’s expanding in this country. At the same time you have to let people live,’ Trump said, suggesting there was merit in the idea of having two minimum wages - one of high school-age kids and another for people who have families to raise.” [CNN, 12/11/13]
2013 Trump: “You Don’t Want To Do Anything That’s Going To Keep The Incentive Away For Whether It’s McDonald’s Expanding In This Country.” According to CNN, “Trump said the debate surrounding whether to raise the minimum wage has ‘created a lot of problems.’ ‘You don’t want to do anything that’s going to keep the incentive away for whether it’s McDonald’s expanding in this country.’” [CNN, 12/11/13]
Trump Said A New York Proposal To Raise The Minimum Wage Up To $15 An Hour Was “Too High.” According to Bloomberg, “In 2015, Trump said he wanted to ‘keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now’ in an interview with MSNBC, and two months later told Fox News that a New York proposal to raise its lowest wage to $15 an hour was ‘too high.’” [Bloomberg, 6/21/19]
In His 2020 State Of The Union, Trump Noted That Wages Were Rising Fastest For Low-Income Workers, But Failed To Mention That The Rise Was Due In Large Part To Minimum Wage Increases At The State Level. According to USA Today, “In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Trump touted a ‘blue collar boom,’ noting that wages ‘are rising fastest for low-income workers.’ He’s correct, but Trump left out one thing: a large portion of those gains can be traced to minimum wage increases in more than half the states. The median wage for the bottom fifth of workers has climbed much more sharply in states that have raised their pay floors than in states that haven’t, according to a study provided exclusively to USA TODAY by the National Employment Law Project (NELP).” [USA Today, 2/7/20]
Economists Said Higher Minimum Wages Had A Clear Influence On Wage Growth. According to the Washington Post, “But the influence of a higher minimum wage on low-wage workers is clear, economists say, even if its magnitude can be hard to measure. ‘This suggests that the minimum wage has been a factor, though not the primary factor, behind wage growth at the lower end,’ said economist Jeffrey Clemens of the University of California at San Diego, who has been more skeptical of the benefits of a higher minimum wage than some of his peers.” [Washington Post, 1/2/20]
May 2017-May 2018: Real Wages Increased 2.4% For The Bottom Fifth Of Workers In States That Increased Minimum Wage. According to USA Today, “That trend appeared to continue in Trump’s administration. From May 2017 to May 2018, the latest data available, real wages rose 2.4% for the bottom fifth of workers in states with minimum wage increases versus 0.26% for such workers in states that kept their pay floors unchanged.” [USA Today, 2/7/20]
A Washington Post Analysis Suggested That Wages Increased In Part Due To A Nationwide Movement To Increase Minimum Wages At The State And Local Level. According to the Washington Post, “The Trump White House and Washington policymakers have touted the tight labor market as the main engine driving gains for the working class, but a Washington Post analysis of Labor Department data suggests that paychecks also grew because of a nationwide movement of rising minimum wages in various states and cities over the past couple of years.” [Washington Post, 1/2/20]
Trump On The Minimum Wage: “Wages Too High. We’re Not Going To Be Able To Compete Against The World.” According to Boston.com, “The Fox Business Republican Debate kicked off Tuesday night with a question about raising the minimum wage, as protesters across the country call for the floor to be raised to $15-an-hour. Donald Trump was the first candidate to answer. ‘Taxes too high, wages too high,’ said Trump, arguing it would damage the United States’ ability to compete internationally. ‘We’re not going to be able to compete against the world,’ he said. ‘I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to go out, they have to work really hard, and they have to get into that upper stratum. But we cannot do this if we are going to compete with the rest of the world, we just can’t do it.’” [Boston.com, 11/10/15]
Trump Defended His Comments That Increased American Wages Would Hurt U.S. Competition In A Global Market. According to Politico, “Donald Trump defended his comment during the debate that increased American wages would hurt U.S. competition in a global market on Thursday, adding that he had not even realized he had caused a stir with his remarks. ‘Let me just explain. That was on minimum wage and it was how we’re going to compete with other countries,’ Trump told ‘Fox and Friends’ in a telephone interview. ‘They were talking about increasing the minimum wage. And whether it’s taxes or minimum wages, if they’re too high, we’re not going to be able to compete with other countries.’” [Politico, 11/12/15]