“I’m going to stand out by being focused on the themes of my campaign, which are solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place — primarily that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio, and we’re about to do the same thing to millions of retail jobs, call-center jobs, fast-food jobs, truck-driving jobs, and on and on through the economy,” he also said.
“I’m talking about those problems and advancing real solutions, like a dividend of a thousand dollars a month for every American adult,” Yang added.
Read more: Why it’s legal, if unusual, for Yang to give out $1,000 a month to one lucky Iowan
And see: The case for paying every American a dividend on the nation’s wealth
The presidential hopeful said his campaign is not in desperation mode, as he’s on track to qualify for the second round of debates by attracting at least 130,000 donors and showing at least 2% support in four national or early primary-state polls. Yang has been showing support of 2% in several national polls, though he’s at 1.3% in the latest RealClearPolitics average of all polls.
“There are some campaigns that are in something of a ‘Hail Mary’ mode, where they’re going to have to throw a touchdown into the end zone to try to make the September debates. We’re not one of those campaigns. We’re going to make the 130,000 threshold probably before tomorrow night,” Yang said.
See: Democratic Party raises bar for second round of debates in fall
In addition, Yang addressed how Democrats can frame the growing economy in a way that wins them the White House.
“Financial insecurity is pervasive in the U.S.,” he said.
“Stock-market price growth DJIA, +0.15% SPX, +0.45% COMP, +0.68% hasn’t really changed those dynamics for many, many American families. I know this because I’ve been around the country traveling. And if you go to most of the country and say, ‘Hey, GDP’s up,’ they look at you like you have a second head. GDP has a very low relationship with the lived experience of most Americans.”