In a major upset for liberal queer ladies like myself nationwide, it looks like Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus is backing Donald Trump—a man who my colleague Patrick Redford once told me looked like “enraged mortadella loaf” during a conversation on Slack—as his business’ candidate.
In an essay published by RealClear Politics, Marcus illuminated the dozen or so people interested in his opinions as to why he chose to endorse Trump as a presidential candidate.
“I have never seen our government as hostile to free enterprise, especially small business, as it is today,” Marcus purported. “It is driving over-regulation, over-taxation, over-litigation, and over-spending. These ‘overs’ are killing small businesses, which create the majority of new jobs in America.”
He continued, hypothesizing that Home Depot, which he began in 1978, would not be able to survive as a business if it was founded today:
We could not do this today, for the same reason why so many Americans have dropped out of the workforce, why their wages have been stagnant, why their health care is a mess, and why our economy has stalled. It’s Obama/Clinton-style government that’s getting in the way.
...never mind that the Obama administration, which Hillary Clinton was a part of, created almost 10 million new jobs throughout the course of our current POTUS’ presidency. (It should also be noted that Clinton plans to make her husband, former president Bill Clinton, in charge of “revitalizing the economy”—a man who during his own run as our nation’s leader created 21 million new jobs, the most within the past four decades.)
While Marcus’ main argument for backing Trump, the orange fruit to Violet Beauregard’s blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, might be based upon the idea of tax reform and supporting American businesses, it’s not entirely clear why he thinks Trump is more suited to lead this particular charge. As of May 2016, it seems that the presumptive GOP nominee’s major plan is to default on U.S. debt if a recession were to occur—a proposal which many have called potentially disastrous.
Marcus, who supported Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election, previously endorsed Jeb Bush as the GOP nominee.
Contact the author at jamie.reich@jezebel.com.
Image via Getty.
DISCUSSION
Hey, you know what else is bad for small businesses? Gigantic chain like Home Depot that move into mid-sized towns and drive those small hardware shops out of business.
God, I’m so sick of the “small business” right-wing talking point. I’ve never seen it spoken by anyone who isn’t a millionaire.