What does Donald Trump think of the minimum wage? It’s safe to say that even he doesn’t know what he thinks. Back in November, at a Republican primary debate, Trump said he opposed raising the minimum wage because “wages too high.” On Tuesday night, in an interview with Bill O’Reilly, Trump had a different position. Or, really, three different positions. “There has to be a federal minimum wage,” O’Reilly said. “What would you set the federal minimum wage at?” O’Reilly asked.
Trump: There doesn't have to be. I would leave it and raise it somewhat. You need to help people. I know it's not very Republican to say.
O’Reilly: Give me ... 10 bucks?
Trump: I would say 10. I would say 10. But, with the understanding that somebody like me is going to bring back jobs, I don't want people to be in that $10 category for very long. But, the thing is, Bill, let the states make the deal.
So. There doesn’t have to be a federal minimum wage, but Trump would raise it to $10, but he would leave it to the states. Trump has blown past incoherent to completely nonsensical. Is he trying to simultaneously pander to people on the far right who think there shouldn’t be a federal minimum wage, and to the majority of American voters who think the minimum wage should be substantially higher than it is? Or does he not realize he’s taking multiple positions? Given what we’ve seen from Trump, it seems plausible that he hasn’t given the minimum wage any thought at all and is just blurting things out without giving his brain a split second to consider if they make any sense.
What does Donald Trump think of the minimum wage? Take your pick—but don’t assume that what he thinks now is what he’ll think 0.3 seconds from now.