Donald Trump’s right-hand woman and alternative fact machine Kellyanne Conway made another slip-up on Wednesday, this time admitting that businesses should pay their workers more.
Conway’s accidental admission came in a discussion with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews about Trump’s immigration policy and what role employers are playing in driving undocumented immigration.
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“We’ve heard from so many Americans saying, ‘I would do those jobs, but you have to allow me to fairly compete for those jobs.’ They’re not going to take $5 dollar an hour under the table,” Conway said.
“How do you stop big shot businessmen from hiring cheap, illegal labor?” Chris Matthews asked Conway. “Nobody’s doing it right now.”
Conway’s solution to this problem was pretty stunning.
“Instead of raising the number of illegal immigrants … why don’t we raise the pay?” she said, in what would be a major policy shift for the new president if she truly meant it.
“How about minimum wage?” Matthews shot back, but Conway ignored it and quickly returned to her talking points.
Even though Conway clearly didn’t mean to call for higher wages, her accidental slip-up was likely the smartest thing she’s ever said. Businesses should be paying their workers higher wages, and that starts with raising the minimum wage so that full-time workers aren’t living in poverty.
If Donald Trump and Republicans want American workers to compete for these jobs, then businesses should offer competitive pay, not slave wages.
Despite Conway’s momentary lapse, the federal minimum wage is likely to remain frozen while Republicans are in control of the Congress and the White House.