DNC on Latest Unemployment Numbers

DNC Chair and former labor secretary Tom Perez released the following statement after three million more Americans filed for unemployment last week:

“More than 36 million Americans have now filed for unemployment. At 14.7%, the national unemployment rate is higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession, and for both African Americans and Hispanics it’s approaching 20%. But this was not inevitable. This is the result of staggering incompetence in the Oval Office. Trump was warned about this virus and he did virtually nothing to contain it. He has denied, downplayed, and outright lied about the severity of this pandemic, and now he’s congratulating himself on his failures while millions of Americans are suffering.

“Trump promised ‘America First,’ and now we are first: We are first on the list of countries with the most confirmed coronavirus cases. We are first in the number of coronavirus deaths, accounting for roughly 25% of confirmed fatalities while having only 5% of the world’s population. Under Donald Trump, we have become first in failure. Under Donald Trump, we have become first in death, disaster, and despair. Make no mistake: Trump’s presidency will be defined by this historic failure of leadership.”