September 13, 2018 09:21 AM UTC

Gardner: When Obama Was President, U.S. Businesses Were "Afraid"

• 13 Comments
• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In a radio interview this morning, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) responded directly to former President Barack Obama’s point in a speech last week that the U.S. economy had turned around in 2015 and 2016, not during the Trump presidency.

“Look, when President Obama was in office, businesses were afraid to invest,” Gardner told KDMT radio host Jimmy Sengenberger. “They were afraid to bring back money from overseas. They were afraid to plan too far overhead because they new they were going to be regulated. They were going to be taxed. They were going to be discouraged from investing, because, remember, after all, they didn’t build [their businesses] according to Barack Obama.

“Under President Trump, what you’ve seen, and under this Administration, the Republican majority, we have actually relieved regulatory burdens from the backs of American businesses and families,” said Gardner on air. “We’ve lowered taxes. And as a result, you are starting to see this Obamasclerosis go away.”

Critics say Trump’s regulatory rollback threatens the environment and the economy, and his tax law will worsen inequality, drive up the debt, and throw 13 million people off the public health insurance rolls by 2025.

Just this week, for example, Trump proposed weakening Obama’s rules to limit emissions of methane, a potent climate-change gas.  The proposed rule would save oil and gas companies $485 million over the next seven years, but pollution-wise, it would be like adding 260,000 cars to the road during the same period. In July, Trump proposed allowing more pollution from cars.

While it’s true that businesses criticized Obama, they’ve increasingly expressed fear about Trump’s policies, not only about Trump’s tariffs but also about the impact of his unpredictable foreign policy stances, his environmental policies, and more.

This week, a diverse coalition of hundreds of businesses and trade association formed to fight Trump’s trade policies.

Elsewhere in the interview, Gardner expressed his “optimism” that Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed by the senate and decried the “theatrics, the antics, the harassment, the bullying that you’ve seen throughout this process.”

“We’re all proud of Justice Gorsuch,” Gardner told Sengenberger, referencing Trump’s first U.S. Supreme Court pick.

Gardner also said he believes Republicans will “expand their majority” in the U.S. Senate in the November election, adding that “Ted Cruz will win” in Texas.

Most pollsters agree that Cruz is still the favorite in Texas, but the race way closer that predicted and could be lost by Cruz. But polls do not support Gardner’s stance that the GOP will gain senate seats. Races across the country are too close to call and could swing to the Democrats.