Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress Mac Deford released the following statement following President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address:
“Last night, the President stood before the country and tried, once again, to gaslight the American people into believing everything is going great. And yes, the economy is doing very well for billionaires. But for working families and individuals, for small business owners, and for the people who keep the Lowcountry moving every day, that is not the reality.
People here know what rising costs feel like. They see it in their grocery bills, in their insurance premiums, and in the price of the things they need just to stay open. No speech changes that.”
Deford criticized the President’s reliance on tariffs to offset the massive loss of federal revenue caused by tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest Americans.
“When Washington hands out tax breaks to billionaires and then turns to tariffs to make up the difference, it is not foreign countries who pay. It is our small businesses. It is our manufacturers. It is the workers whose livelihoods depend on the Port of Charleston and the flow of global trade.
The Lowcountry does not need economic experiments. Our port supports thousands of jobs. Treating trade like a political weapon puts real people at risk.”
Deford also called out the President’s continued claims about health care reform.
“For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has said he has a concept of a health care plan. Last night proved that nothing has changed. Americans heard the same promise without the substance behind it. Families and individuals who are struggling to afford coverage do not need another slogan or ‘concepts of a plan’. They need stability, lower costs, and leadership that takes the issue seriously.”
Deford said the speech reflected a broader disconnect between Washington rhetoric and everyday life in South Carolina’s First District.
“You cannot claim to fight inflation while pushing policies that raise prices. You cannot talk about fiscal strength while blowing a hole in federal revenue and asking working people to fill it. And you cannot promise health care reform while offering no real path forward.
The President painted a picture of an economy that exists on paper. Here in the Lowcountry, people live in the real one. Every Republican running in South Carolina’s First District has lined up behind this agenda. Voters deserve to understand exactly what that means: tariffs that raise costs, tax policies that favor billionaires, and a health care promise that never arrives.”