Trump turns economic speech into attack on Democrats after Michigan results

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday turned a speech about the economy into an attack on progressive Democrats, arguing that their recent primary victories pose a potentially dangerous shift for the Democratic Party ahead of the November midterms.



Trump's visit to Las Vegas was part of a more aggressive push by the White House to shift attention toward the success of progressive candidates as voters remain unhappy with the president's handling of the economy and the Iran war.



His meandering speech to a crowd of loyalists at Red Rock Casino came a day after progressive candidates scored key victories in Michigan's Democratic primaries on Tuesday.



Trump spent time focusing on tax provisions in last year's Republican spending package, including measures eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security income for many Americans. "So if you're a waiter, a waitress, a bartender, a bellhop... you pay zero taxes on your tipped income," Trump said.



But the victories by progressive Democrats in Michigan and other Democratic primaries were a dominant theme for Trump.



Democratic socialists, he said, represented the creeping threat of communism and threatened to destroy the American way of life.