WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "If what you care about in this election is your pocketbook, if what you’re concerned about is who will look out for the interests of working people and grow the middle class, if that’s what you’re concerned about… the debate is not even close," Obama stated.
The president noted that the Republican economic plans would lead to lower wages, fewer worker protections, and let China write the rules for the global economy.
"If you don’t want China to set the rules for the 21st century, and they’re trying, then TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement] makes sure that we set the rules," Obama added.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has claimed the United States owes China and Japan trillions of dollars because of the failure to protect US domestic industries from unfair trade deals.
Trump has also claimed the 5 percent unemployment rate provided by from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics is false and unemployment actually stands at 20 percent or higher.