Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.
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Pre-Convention Conversation: How the Middle Class Sees It
On our live call-in special Tuesday night, listeners shared their thoughts on how the Donald Trump is addressing the needs of the middle class. Entrepreneurs from around the country called in to talk about what they can take from Donald Trump’s vision of business.
Randy Bradley, who owns two Burger Kings, one in Iowa and one in Missouri, said that Trump was more realistic about labor costs, and the minimum wage than Clinton. "Let me put it this way," Randy said, "if you pay someone fifteen dollars an hour and they only produce twelve dollars of work, that's a recipe for bankruptcy."
Other callers liked that Trump would end free-trade and raise taxes on Wall Street. Others admired the way Trump handled money in his personal life, from being a "great business man" to "funding his own campaign."
Cherie Corso, the founder of G2 Organics a Pelham a New York–based company selling health and wellness products, felt strongly that Donald Trump had already moved the economy forward. "Anyone who is selling anything with Trump on it, is selling out like crazy," she said. Cherie credited Trump's ability to mobilize on his unique energy, "Donald Trump has sprinkled pixie dust all over this country."
Not all callers were pro-trump, even staunch republicans. American businessman and former Mayor of Bogota, Steve Lonegan, talked about how ending free trade, a key piece of Trump's economic platform, would ruin the economy.
Also, Dr. Tony Beam, radio host of Christian World View Today in Greenville South Carolina, acted as a cultural translator, explaining why is his listener-ship was strongly for Trump.