Donald Trump said Sunday that despite living a very different life from working class Americans, he has drawn their support because he is a job producer and has worked in construction his entire life.
And while he may not need to ride several buses to get to work, Trump said he has “the ultimate bus.”
“I have the ultimate bus, right? I just call it a 727. I mean, you know, and now it’s a 757, actually,” Trump said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” of his private jet, a Boeing 757.
Still, Trump said he can “relate to” working class Americans.
“I love those people. Those are my people. I love those people. I really do. I love the policemen. I love the firemen. For whatever reason, and it is strange,” Trump said. “But somehow, I’ve always had great relationships with the workers. I work with them. I used to work, during summer, building houses in Brooklyn and Queens.”
Trump added that those blue collar workers have “been hurt very badly” and pointed to his plan to his massive tax cut plan as a boon for the middle class.
Trump’s plan would slash taxes for all Americans, including eliminating income taxes for the poorest Americans. The Tax Policy Center estimates Trump’s plan would cost the U.S. at least $9.5 trillion over the next decade.
The billionaire real estate mogul added that his appeal to working class Americans and his position on trade would help him appeal to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-proclaimed democratic socialist running for the Democratic nomination who, like Trump, has also been critical of recent trade deals.
“One thing we sort of agree on is trade. I mean, we’re getting horribly beaten on trade. The difference is, I’ll make great trade deals,” Trump said, comparing himself to Sanders.
“He is incapable of doing that. He’s incapable of it. And you know, he just won’t be able to do that. But he does at least acknowledge that we’re getting just absolutely ripped by China and all these other countries. So in that way, we’re the same. I think a lot of his people are going to come over,” Trump said.