6 Quotes That Show Trump Has No Idea How Money Works For Real People

Even before he became president, Donald Trump was never shy about sharing what’s on his mind. Since moving into the Oval Office, however, his voice has certainly been amplified ― for better or worse.

So leave it to us to highlight the ridiculous ― and untrue ― statements he’s made about finances. From the stock market to the actual market, these six quotes show he doesn’t really get how money works for regular people.

1. He celebrated market fluctuations like milestones

In January, Trump tweeted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 25,000 points. Tremendous news indeed, considering the previous month marked the worst December in stock market history since the Great Depression...

...except that he had already congratulated someone ― we can safely assume himself ― for the same milestone more than a year earlier...

...and also in July 2018.

For most of us who invest, it’s with the expectation that doing so will result in our money growing over time. Market ups and downs are to be expected, but more than a year of flatlined growth isn’t exactly something to brag about.

2. He thinks you need ID to buy groceries

It’s no secret that Trump has been pushing for stricter voter identification laws, claiming ID is necessary to prevent voter fraud (it isn’t). But one thing that anyone who lives in the real working world knows is that you don’t need an ID to buy groceries. Yet Trump claimed just the opposite to a crowd gathered for a rally in Tampa, Florida, last year:

We’re not sure when Trump last had to buy groceries for himself. And according to press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, neither is she. However, we do know formal identification is not required to buy basic goods like food.

3. He also thinks grocery stores help people with no income

Man, Trump really doesn’t understand how grocery stores work. In January, Trump was asked for his thoughts on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ controversial statement that federal employees affected by the shutdown should not rely on food banks and simply take out loans to make ends meet instead. Here’s what Trump had to say:

This should go without saying, but grocery stores sell groceries. Many of the 800,000 federal employees who were furloughed or forced to work without pay for more than a month did need to rely on food banks, unemployment benefits and credit card debt to survive.

4. He claimed your 401(k) is killing it

Trump loves to tweet about 401(k)s. And in August 2018, he promised more good news to follow for all of the Americans who surely became rich after a market upswing.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

2018 was a record-setting year. Unfortunately, that’s because it was actually the worst year for stocks since 2008. Despite several upswings, the market also experienced severe drops, ending down overall.

What the president also failed to acknowledge is that most Americans don’t have a 401(k). Only 14 percent of all employers offer a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan to employees. Of those that do, only about a third of employees actually contribute. Hopefully, more employers will offer retirement plans soon, and more workers will be able to afford to participate.

5. The economy grew by an ‘amazing’ 4.1 percent

Gross domestic product, or GDP, measures the value of a country’s output and is a major indicator of an economy’s health. Last year, Trump boasted many times about the GDP’s growth over the second quarter.

“Amazing” isn’t exactly the appropriate word to describe a 4.1 percent rate of growth for the GDP. As The Associated Press explains, the economy is certainly healthy now, but the 4.1 percent figure was simply the highest since 2014. It represents nothing close to record growth in previous years.

6. He thought we’d be excited about his tax plan

In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. It included major changes to tax brackets, credits and deductions for both individuals and businesses. And as the House and Senate met to merge and finalize their two versions of the bill prior to passing it, Trump made strong claims about the impact of his plan.

Americans are finally getting to see the results of the new tax plan on their returns this tax season. And the results are mixed at best. Many taxpayers who got refunds last year are discovering they owe hefty tax bills for 2018.

Part of this is because the plan actually imposed greater limits on tax deductions that were particularly valuable in affluent metropolitan areas, such as those for state and local taxes, mortgage interest and property taxes. The second reason is that despite major changes to the tax code, the IRS had to rely on the same W-4 forms to determine employees’ tax withholding. That means many people ended up underpaying for the year. And those people are very, very mad.

Related...

9 Tax Deductions That Are Gone In 2018 (And What To Claim Instead)

4 Signs Another Recession Is Coming ― And What It Means For You

7 Examples Of Terrible Financial Advice We've Heard

Also on HuffPost

That giving your wife "negotiable assets" is a terrible mistake.

That women are essentially aesthetically-pleasing objects.

That women on The Apprentice need to rely on sex appeal.

That bad press doesn't matter as long as you have a sexy girlfriend.

That pumping breast milk is "disgusting."

That all women hate prenups, because they are gold diggers.

That women have a "great act" going on to trick men.

That Hillary would be a bad president because her husband cheated on her.

That Angelina Jolie has dated too many guys to be attractive.

That the best line in any movie is this beautiful gem.

That a journalist who offended him had an ugly face.

That women fawn all over him because he is rich and powerful.

That the ladies on 'The Apprentice' are all super in to him.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.