President Trump’s Negative Rhetoric On Louisiana’s Economy Is All Partisan Politics, And His Mississippi Speech Proves It

POTUS repeatedly praised Mississippi’s economy, which is under-performing Louisiana’s by a wide margin

President Trump’s rhetoric on Louisiana’s economy is just partisan politics, and what he said Friday at a rally in Mississippi proves it.

At the rally, Trump repeatedly praised the performance of Mississippi’s economy under a Republican governor, saying “jobs are booming, confidence is soaring, wages are rising” and praising Mississippi’s “lowest unemployment rate.”

Trump has criticized Louisiana’s economic performance while supporting Republican candidates for Louisiana governor, but Louisiana’s economy under Gov. Edwards is outperforming Mississippi’s by almost every measure.

The latest state unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show Mississippi had the largest unemployment rate increase of any state in the country this past month. Louisiana’s unemployment sits at 4.3 percent, Mississippi’s is at 5.4 percent. The White House even touted Louisiana’s economy when President Trump visited right before the Louisiana primary.

Louisiana’s personal income is at the state’s highest ever. This year, Louisiana’s personal income rate is growing at 4.9 percent, Mississippi’s is growing at 3.3 percent. Mississippi’s economy is growing at the slowest rate in the South.

Louisiana is ranked second in the South for economic development results and outpaces Mississippi for capital investment and job-creation projects in the region.

And Mississippi’s refusal to expand Medicaid is also wreaking havoc on Mississippi’s economy. More than half of all rural hospitals in Mississippi have lost money from 2011 to 2017 and five hospitals have closed since 2010. Since Gov. Edwards expanded Medicaid, no rural hospitals have closed in Louisiana.

So when you hear President Trump pan Louisiana’s economy after touting Mississippi’s, know it’s all partisan politics and no substance.