Love him or hate him, President Trump said in New Hampshire on Thursday that Americans must vote for him, or their 401k, as well as the stock market in general, will go down the tubes.
“If for some reason I wouldn’t have won the [2016] election, these markets would have crashed. That’ll happen even more so in 2020,” Trump said. “See, the bottom line is… You have no choice but to vote for me because your 401k, everything is going to be down the tubes. So whether you love me or hate me, you’ve got to vote for me.”
During a roughly 90-minute campaign rally in Manchester, N.H., Trump repeatedly pointed to the country’s (and New Hampshire’s in particular) strong economy in making his case for reelection while also defending his economic policies that are alarming some businesses and investors amid increasing concerns about a recession.
“You have the best unemployment, you have the most successful state in the history of your state and the history of our country. And then you’re going to vote for somebody else? Oh great. ‘Let’s vote for Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren. We have the best numbers we’ve ever had—let’s vote for somebody else.’”
On Twitter, @realDonaldTrump trumpeted New Hampshire’s 2.4% unemployment rate reached in Sept. 2018, its lowest since 1988, that remained for nine straight months.
In addition to Trump’s 401k and the economy comments and addressing a broad range of other topics, the President talked plenty about the 2020 election. In sizing up the field of Democratic presidential candidates, Trump had this to say, referring to Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke and Joe Biden:
“You’ve got Pocahontas is rising. You’ve got Kamala, Kamala is falling. You’ve got Beto, Beto is like, gone. We’ll see what happens. Whoever it is, I don’t know that it matters,” Trump said. “I think Sleepy Joe might be able to limp across the finish line, maybe… I sort of hope it’s him.”
Trump flew to the battleground state, which Hillary Clinton won by a mere 2,700 votes in 2016, to make a play to turn it red in 2020. Earlier this month, a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found 42% of New Hampshire adults approve of Trump while 53% disapprove, while 49% approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and 44% disapprove.
The New York Times notes in an Aug. 15 article covering the rally that New Hampshire’s four Electoral College votes are far below that of key swing states like Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan, but its influence can prove powerful in close election years like 2000, when George W. Bush’s victory in the state gave him the edge needed to win the White House.