A group of more than 700 top international economists has signed an open letter telling voters to dump “reckless” Donald Trump , outlining the serious problems they believe he has caused during his nearly four years in office.
The letter stated their opposition to the president on economic grounds and detailed what the group perceived as widespread failures across both domestic and international relations. It claimed that he has done lasting damage to America’s reputation and that he mishandled the coronavirus pandemic by failing to listen to experts, instead relying on an inner circle that includes close family members.
“In just one term in office, Donald Trump has rendered the United States unrecognizable, and has faced no consequences for doing so,” the note read. “He has carried out a sustained assault on democratic institutions, put his family members in charge of critical government functions during a pandemic, called for his political opponents to be thrown in prison, normalized corruption, and weakened the economic recovery with selfish and reckless behavior. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that the electorate do what no one else can: reclaim your democracy by voting to remove Donald Trump from office.”
The statement, published on Friday, continued to strongly urge voters not to re-elect Trump by citing his “chaotic and ineffective” approach to negotiating, which the economists said has damaged relationships with trade partners and hurt American interests. They also accused Trump of damaging the credibility and effectiveness of America’s public sector by failing to properly staff federal agencies and leaving a series of disgruntled former staffers who have spoken out against his administration.
Their letter also highlighted the differences between Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, noting that analysts from some top advisory firms have predicted that Biden’s plans for the U.S. economy would help fuel a faster recovery than what the president has offered.
As Business Insider noted, the statement was endorsed by some of the nation’s top economists, including a number of Nobel Prize winners.
The letter is a blow to what had consistently been one of Trump’s strongest arguments for re-election — his plans for the economy. As his poll numbers have fallen both nationally and in key swing states, Trump has continued to maintain high scores for his economic performance. His numbers in this category have topped Biden’s even as the Democratic candidate has overtaken him on nearly all other critical fronts. The polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight noted that, until recently, Trump’s ratings on the U.S. economy had been relatively high compared to his approval in other areas, though they have fallen more recently.
