Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez on Wednesday blamed President Donald Trump for Democrats’ surly demeanors at the State of the Union address.
Bloomberg’s Julia Chatterley asked Perez whether Democrats’ frowns and folded arms were justified even when Trump recounted positive aspects of the state of America’s union. Perez said their attitudes reflected their problem with Trump’s "economic betrayal."
"When you play fast and loose with the facts and you are constantly divisive like this president, it is hard to sit there and be warm and fuzzy," Perez said."You look at the economic betrayal of this president, he says jobs—"
"But jobs are being gained, wages are starting to rise, there were reasons for all Americans—Democratic or Republican—to be happy there," Chatterley interjected. "Why couldn't the Democrats show appreciation for that?"
Perez then argued that pace of job growth has slowed since the Obama administration, but Chatterley pointed out that job growth normally slows as the economy gets closer to full employment. Perez still said jobs are being lost to offshoring, while wages are "stagnating" and the Labor Department has changed overtime rules.
Perez also argued that Republicans’ changes to Obamacare will have detrimental effects and make it harder for "everyday Americans."
"I’m concerned about everyday Americans," Perez said. "2017 was a great year for the one percent, but for everybody else—for people struggling to make ends meet—they are finding it harder to get access to health care. They are not seeing the benefits this president is touting because those benefits go disproportionately to people at the top."
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) chided Democrats for not respecting the president, which he criticized Republicans for not doing when Obama was in office.