Donald Trump Blames Democrats for Delayed Unemployment Benefits

President Donald Trump blamed Democrats on Monday for delayed state unemployment benefits, noting he preferred to send Americans the money directly.

“Blame the Democrats for any ‘lateness’ in your Enhanced Unemployment Insurance,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I wanted the money to be paid directly, they insisted it be paid by states for distribution.”

Blame the Democrats for any “lateness” in your Enhanced Unemployment Insurance. I wanted the money to be paid directly, they insisted it be paid by states for distribution. I told them this would happen, especially with many states which have old computers.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2020

The $2 trillion CARES economic rescue package includes an additional $600 a week for unemployment, but Americans can only access it by applying for unemployment in their states.

“I told them this would happen, especially with many states which have old computers,” Trump wrote.

More populous states such as Florida, New York, and New Jersey, and Michigan have faced growing backlogs and website crashes, as millions of Americans try to file for unemployment benefits on aging underperforming systems.

Trump’s direct deposit coronavirus rescue payments from the Treasury Department, however, landed in many American taxpayer’s bank accounts in less than three weeks after the bill was passed.

In March, President Trump repeatedly warned that outdated unemployment systems would be problematic for getting economic aid to Americans.

“I was opposed to this method because many of the states have very antiquated computer systems, that are 45 years old and they’re not prepared to handle this kind of distribution, this kind of money coming in so quickly,” he warned after the CARES Act passed.