Karl W. Smith, Columnist

Democrats, Not Trump, Hold the Economy’s Fate

The last 24 hours make it clear that the president is not in charge.

October 7, 2020 at 6:00 PM UTC

Karl W. Smith is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Previously, he was vice president for federal policy at the Tax Foundation and assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina.

Not necessarily in control of the economy.
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg

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The real lesson of the last 24 hours is this: Democrats, not President Donald Trump, are in control of U.S. economic policy.

No one knows for sure what prompted Trump’s tweeted intention to end negotiations over a new Covid stimulus package, which sent the markets into a nosedive on Tuesday. Some have speculated that Trump buckled under pressure from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is said to oppose a big bill. This ignores McConnell’s efforts, admittedly awkward, to get a stimulus bill through the Senate.